Bonfire of the Vampires

by Bonfire Of The Vampires (lit)

  “That’s better,” Claude said when Abby finished adjusting the flowing lines of the gown. He took Abby’s arm roughly by the elbow and pulled her toward the door. Marabel fell into step behind them, her pale blue eyes leveled at the back of Abby’s neck. As if she needs another enemy, Jake thought.

  The entourage made its way down the stairs and through the hidden door that lead back to the room where Jake had battled with Mick Garvey.

  Jake remembered all too well the smell of blood and Gregori’s delighted exclamation when he’d killed Garvey.

  How could he have ever blamed Abby for being a vampire killer when he’d known all along he was destined to become one himself?

  The guards threw Jake into the center of the room. He knew the drill, so he crouched and scooped up one of the new stakes that had been set on the floor. He took a stance dead center of the room, his jaw set, muscles tense. His opponent would arrive any minute.

  Above him, Claude escorted Abby to one of the chairs. Once she’d lowered herself to the overstuffed cushion, Marabel reached around and jerked Abby’s arms behind her. Though Jake couldn’t tell in the dim light, it appeared that Claude’s concubine was securing Abby’s arms behind her back.

  Their eyes met and he hoped she understood how sorry he was that it had come to this.

  * * * *

  Abby twisted her wrists against the silken cord Marabel used to secure her hands behind her. She doubted she could escape even if she managed to free herself from her bonds. With the vampire guards flanking her and Claude and Marabel at arm’s reach, she wouldn’t get far.

  She kept her eyes on Jake and marveled at how natural he looked in the macabre setting. Naked to the waist, brandishing a wooden stake, he looked like a primal warrior. There was something feral in his eyes that she’d never seen before--or at least couldn’t remember ever seeing. It excited her.

  She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Across the room, a door opened and Gregori stepped through. Abby rolled her eyes. The vampire king had dressed for the occasion in a blood-red hooded robe. Around his neck, a huge square pendant encrusted with jewels hung from a satin ribbon. Very Dracula, she thought and fought to suppress a giggle. Why on earth she would find anything amusing at this moment, she had no idea.

  Gregori didn’t share her amusement. His eyes were narrowed in anticipation of the event and they rested hungrily on Jake.

  Other vampires began appearing then from hidden doors throughout the room. After a few minutes the entire raised platform was full of both vampires and their feeders. Abby noted there seemed to be no female vampires. She knew they existed, but apparently Gregori’s old world sensibilities didn’t tolerate them. All of his Chosen were male.

  When the spectator gallery was full, Gideon appeared from behind Gregori. Like Jake, he was shirtless. He’d obviously not escaped his own earlier duel without injury. Healing scratches covered his chest and arms as well.

  With a superior look, he leapt into the center arena and picked up one of the five remaining stakes. He and Jake faced each other from opposites sides of the hexagon, brandishing their weapons.

  The tension between them was palpable and Gregori’s expression showed that he relished it. If he had a favorite, Abby couldn’t tell, but the smug look on Gideon’s face told her he had no intention of losing.

  Jake’s expression was neutral. He had no desire to win but he had no choice if he wanted to survive.

  Gregori rose. Though he was shorter than both combatants, from the platform he towered over them. When he spoke, his voice carried clearly through the room.

  “To the death, gentlemen.”

  That pronouncement began the ritual. Gregori’s faint accent made his words sound so polite and genteel.

  What ensued between Jake and Gideon was anything but civilized.

  While Abby tested the strength of her bonds, the combatants circled each other. Their wary movements hinted that there wasn’t a shred of trust left between them. Neither expected mercy from the other, and neither intended to show it.

  Gideon made the first aggressive move. He looked as though he’d fed to the point of frenzy. His eyes blazed and his skin was practically ruddy from the abundance of blood in his system. When he smiled at Jake, his fangs showed. He bared the razor-sharp incisors fully when he lunged, swinging wildly.

  The tip of Gideon’s stake glanced across Jake’s upper arm. He danced back and stumbled. Gideon seized the moment of weakness and advanced again, but Jake was ready. The loss of footing was a ruse. When Gideon neared, Jake smashed his fist forward in a jaw-shattering blow.

  Gideon took the hit in stride. He grabbed Jake’s outstretched arm and, using his body for leverage, slung Jake to his knees.

  It seemed like an easy victory but Jake rolled to his feet almost immediately, sparing only a glance at the jagged tear across his left bicep. The blood that oozed there was dark, attesting to the fact that the exertion of the fight was taking its toll. One of them would have to feed in order to win.

  Gideon swiped at the blood that leaked from between his lips. The coppery sparks in his eyes blazed with renewed hatred for his former friend. Whatever friendship had stood between them was long dead, and soon one of them would be as well.

  Jake backpedaled until he reached the very edge of the arena, then leaned forward and spread his arms wide. It was an invitation. Abby held her breath. Was Gideon so pumped with his quest for power that he would foolishly attack again? The two men circled each other, their ragged breathing the only sound in the room.

  Finally Gideon did just as Jake anticipated. He lunged. Abby gasped as Jake danced aside. His stake came down hard in the center of Gideon’s back and there was a moment when they both hung suspended--joined by the thin wooden shaft. Gideon’s fangs flashed but he made no sound. Jake pulled the stake away and a gaping hole remained. It was deep and bloody, but not fatal.

  Gideon lurched aside and fell against the platform just a few inches from Abby’s feet. He smiled up at her before he turned on his opponent.

  “You missed,” he rasped. Jake didn’t respond. He tossed the bloody stake from one hand to the other like a street punk while Gideon hissed at him.

  “This could go on for hours,” Claude whispered. Abby resisted the urge to shush him. Marabel nodded. “We should do something.”

  Abby looked up suddenly as Marabel hovered toward her. Gregori’s eyes were on her from across the arena and he nodded. Marabel slashed the bonds holding Abby’s hands and a second later Claude dragged her to her feet and threw her into the arena. She landed at Jake’s feet, bruised and dizzy from the impact with the hard wooden floor.

  “Kill her or claim her,” Gregori said. “Either way, the winner will have her blood on him.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jake resisted the urge to swear at Gregori. If Gideon hadn’t stood between them, his predatory gaze locked on Abby, Jake might have gone after his sire. He had no doubt that with Gregori out of the way, the rite of succession to his self-appointed throne would be up for grabs among the slavering spectators.

  Instead of indulging his rising desire for vengeance, he reached down and yanked Abby up. She wobbled, still dazed by her impact with the floor. He squeezed her bicep until she winced, and her startled cry cut through the haze in her brain.

  “You’re a vampire killer,” he whispered savagely in her ear. “Now is a good time to act like one.” He shoved the stake into her hand and simultaneously pushed her behind him.

  Gideon was gearing up for his next attack. He leered at Abby over Jake’s shoulder. “You’re going to waste your energy protecting her?” he asked, dark amusement coloring his words.

  “At least I’m not wasting it by asking stupid questions.”

  Jake feinted then, taunting Gideon. He left Abby unprotected for the split second it took him to retrieve another stake from the floor.

  Gideon seized the opening and rushed forward. Abby twirled away with her stake in front of her and, all aroun
d the arena, the vampires in attendance leaned closer. The smell of vengeance drew them like sharks to fresh blood.

  Jake had to struggle to concentrate. Not only had the fight weakened him, but Abby’s presence in the arena was a major distraction.

  How could he keep her safe from Gideon when he couldn’t keep his eyes off the pounding pulse in her neck? How could he keep her safe from himself?

  He shook himself from his dangerous reverie and flanked Gideon as he stalked toward Abby. She flexed her knees, the sharpened point of the stake poised.

  “If Jake doesn’t kill you, I will,” she said loud enough to draw a startled reaction from the crowd. What did they expect? Jake thought. That she would stand there and wait for one of them to grab her and drink from her?

  “Can you do it?” Gideon taunted her with quick feints as he circled her. For a moment it seemed, he forgot about Jake. “Remember you love me, Abby. It’s okay to remember you love me.”

  Abby hesitated for a second and Jake’s eyes slid from Gideon’s to hers. Could he do that? Was that one of the things Gideon had made her forget? By the look on her face, it was obvious that she feared it for that brief second. She feared remembering that it was really Gideon she’d loved all along.

  Abby straightened her stance and dropped her arm. “Gideon....” Her voice had lost its edge.

  Jake felt weak. No. He refused to believe it. How could she love Gideon after what she’d said to him in the bedroom?

  A curtain of indecision clouded Gideon’s features. Whether or not Jake believed it, Gideon did. His grimace softened. “Abby--get behind me.” His voice was so low Jake wasn’t sure he’d heard the words. His heart nearly split when Abby nodded. She didn’t look at Jake. Her head dropped and her hair obscured her face.

  Jake stared as she padded across the floor to stand behind Gideon. His former partner’s smile of triumph was like a stake in his heart.

  “You see, Jake? I had her all along. She was always mine and she’ll always be mine.”

  Jake lifted his own stake. He had one shot. If he missed now--he’d open himself up for Abby to kill him. Maybe it would be better that way. She’d already destroyed him, what more was left?

  Above them, Gregori leaned forward even farther in his seat. Another inch and the vampire king would topple into the arena.

  Jake took a breath and lunged.

  The impact rattled his exhausted brain, but he vaguely registered the look of shock on Gideon’s face before he stumbled away.

  The stake was buried halfway up its length in Gideon’s chest but the blow was high and more toward his right shoulder. It was the shock of pain that registered in his eyes now, not the realization that his un-life was over.

  Or so that’s how it seemed for a moment. Gideon staggered backward laughing. Even a wound such as this would heal. “You don’t even know where my heart is, do you, Jake?” he asked. His question ended in a startled hiccup that brought dark blood to his lips.

  Jake scanned the floor for another stake. He’d bought himself one more chance. As he bent to retrieve another weapon, Gideon turned to Abby. She stood back, almost touching the platform. The vampires behind her were wide-eyed with anticipation for the end of the ritual.

  It was then that Jake noticed there was no stake in her hand.

  “Come here, Abby,” Gideon said, beckoning her with a trembling hand. “I need you now.”

  Jake rose slowly, his eyes on Abby first then on the bloody shaft that protruded from Gideon’s back. Something surged in him when he realized what Abby had done.

  Gideon sank to his knees before her in a posture of supplication. “You can remember that you love me, Abby. You can remember that now, can’t you?”

  She shook her head, but Jake saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “I don’t remember.”

  “Finish him!” Gregori said, his voice was a barely audible hiss.

  Jake considered refusing. Neither stake had reached Gideon’s heart or he’d have been dust by now. He moved forward on leaden feet. It was like swimming up stream. He wrapped his hand around the stake in Gideon’s back.

  All he had to do was pull it free, or push it home.

  Gregori rose. “Finish him.”

  Jake obeyed.

  * * * *

  The pounding of blood in Abby’s ears drowned out the reaction from the assembled spectators. She sank to her knees before the pile of ashes and bone fragments that had once been Gideon Price.

  She should have felt relief ... or maybe remorse, but instead she felt nothing.

  She blinked and lifted her hand to Jake so he could help her up.

  His arm came around her, but his attention was on Gregori. The vampire king looked pleased. He nodded to them and flanked by his guards, he left the arena. The others followed one by one until only Claude and Marabel were left.

  Gregori’s manager reached down and offered his hand to Abby. He pulled her up and delivered her into Marabel’s capable hands.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up. Now you can wear anything you want,” she said vapidly as she guided Abby through one of the paneled doors. Abby glanced back to make sure Jake was following her. His smile was meant to reassure, but it seemed forced. She wondered if he had any greater clue than she did as to what might happen next. The thought that this ordeal wasn’t yet over made her blood thicken like cement.

  Claude and Marabel escorted them into the foyer and there they separated. “It’s all right. No one’s going to hurt you now,” Marabel soothed as she urged Abby toward the stairs.

  Claude showed Jake to one of the hidden doors. Abby caught Jake’s gaze over his bloody shoulder. She might have protested but she was too drained to fight. She climbed the stairs in a trance and when Marabel led her to Jake’s room, she crawled across the smooth sheets of the bed and collapsed.

  “I’ll bring you something to eat,” Marabel said. Abby ignored her. She curled her arms around a pillow and closed her eyes.

  The image of Gideon’s face as he crumbled to dust was etched into her mind’s eye. She’d never forget it. She’d killed dozens of vampires for the Client and each job was different. Some had fought her, some never saw it coming. Some looked surprised and others fearful as they rotted away to nothing or burst into flames. But the one thing they’d all had in common was that none of them had ever looked at her with regret. None of them had ever looked at her with need in their eyes. None of them had ever loved her.

  Though she wasn’t completely sure why, Abby cried. She cried until her tears ran dry and she fell asleep on the cool, black sheets.

  Epilogue

  “Put the larger display case on the left so it won’t obscure the heating vent,” Abby said with exaggerated patience. The two muscular deliverymen sighed in unison like a well-rehearsed comedy team. With identical expressions of long-suffering weariness, they shouldered up to the six-foot tall, mirror-backed shelving unit that they had just set down in exactly the wrong place.

  Abby tried to smile as the men grunted and groaned their dissatisfaction. At this rate Treasure Trove Too would never be ready for the grand opening that Hanfield Ltd. had scheduled in two weeks.

  “Inventory is going to start arriving on Monday, Abby,” Eleanor Saks reminded her as she hustled by with a bucket full of cleaning products. The deliverymen had left greasy fingerprints on every shiny surface in the new store and Abby’s assistant was itching to tackle the mess as soon as they left.

  Abby smiled weakly. “We’re going to have to leave everything boxed until the rest of the shelves arrive.”

  “It’s one step short of a disaster.” Eleanor shook her head and pushed a blonde curl out of her eyes. Always melodramatic, she looked far more enthused than a person facing a near catastrophe had a right to be. She loved the chaos of opening the new store and deep down, despite her never ending bout of nerves since she’d signed the contract, Abby did too.

  “We’ll pull it all together,” she said. “I really appreciate you coming in on a Sat
urday to help out.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Eleanor gave her boss a conspiratory wink. “Besides, the sooner you get set up over here, the sooner I get promoted to store manager. There’s nothing selfless about my dedication, sweetie.”

  Abby laughed. “I’m shocked! You’re trying to get rid of me?” Her laughter faltered when a figure appeared in the back doorway of the store. Silhouetted against the turquoise glow of early evening, Jake looked just a little dangerous and it set Abby’s heart fluttering. Six months together hadn’t settled the butterflies she felt every time she looked at him. Power seemed to pulse from him since he’d assumed Gregori’s throne.

  “How’s it going, ladies?” he asked as he sidled past the deliverymen. His smile faded some of her nervous tension and she walked into his embrace.

  “I didn’t expect you back tonight,” she said as he kissed the top of her head.

  “I got finished with my meeting early. I thought I’d pick you up and we could go out to dinner.”

  “Ooh, you’re so lucky!” Eleanor said with a mock scowl. “I’ve got to cook tonight.”

  “Why don’t you come with us? After all your hard work, your boss owes you a dinner.”

  Eleanor giggled at Jake’s offer. “I would but you two are so lovey-dovey. All that sugar is bad for my diet. You go have a good time like only couples without kids can. I could use a break from the slave driver here anyway.”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “Where’s my whip?”

  “See?” Eleanor’s grin widened. “I never catch a break.”

  “Is this okay, ma’am?” One of the deliverymen asked. The look on his face suggested that Abby had little choice but to say yes. She nodded with a sigh. Eleanor only shook her head as the men shouldered through the narrow back door and headed to their waiting truck. She scooped up her jacket and purse and turned back to Abby.