Bloodlust

by Kramer, D. L.

  Rasmussen opened the door almost immediately and I was guessing by the way one hand was hidden behind the door, he was holding a gun.

  “Michael?” He sounded surprised to see me.

  “I need to know who took Rosie to get her things,” I told him. “Someone attacked her while she was there and she’s missing.”

  Rasmussen’s face paled and he pushed open the door, motioning for me to come inside. He set his gun down on the table behind the door and walked over to the small desk in the living room.

  He was right, the place was a dive, though he had made some effort to make it livable. The furniture was worn and faded, but free of stains and dirt. The same for the appliances in the kitchen around the corner.

  Rasmussen sat down by the desk and started making phone calls. I paced from the entryway to the front room and back, listening to both sides of each conversation. The officers had shown up when Rosie had called them, just like Rasmussen had arranged. They’d gone with her to the house, where they’d found Nicholas and some people he introduced as friends. After a few minutes, one of them had come out and told them they’d take Rosie home and the officers could leave. Seeing no sign of danger, they’d left her there.

  I was already growling curses when Rasmussen hung up the phone, saying his curses out loud. I was sure it must have been Trina who’d spoken to them.

  “Chances are they couldn’t help it,” I told him. “The one who talked to them was probably quite well trained in imposing her will on people. In their minds, whatever she told them made perfect sense.”

  “We’re cops, we’re not supposed to be susceptible to things like that,” he shot back, obviously angry. Though whether it was for Rosie being in trouble or them leaving her in harm’s way, I couldn’t tell.

  “They’re human, it’s a fact that they are,” I returned. “Marcella’s on the hunt now because of it. Do you have a rifle you can use from a distance?”

  “I have several,” he said. He walked to a metal cabinet along the far wall and unlocked it. Inside I spotted at least four rifles stored. He took a bag from under the sofa and put two of the guns into it, then a number of boxes of ammunition.

  “I tried to call, you didn’t pick up,” I mentioned. I doubted Aleksander had gotten to him, I didn’t pick up any stray scents around the apartment that alarmed me.

  He paused. “I went down to the newsstand a little bit ago,” he said. “Then stopped for some coffee. I’m trying to keep sane with routines.”

  I nodded, that must have been where he was. And I could understand his thinking.

  “So what do you need?” he asked, putting a case into the bag, then more ammunition.

  “We’re going to the warehouse,” I told him. I walked over and wrote out the address on a piece of paper from the desk. “Marcella and Jozef are already there. My guess is they aren’t leaving until Aleksander shows up for his meeting tonight. Wait there with them. Try to find a vantage point where you can take out anyone who tries to escape.”

  He nodded, taking the address from me. “And you?”

  “I’m going to go look for Aleksander and hopefully Rosie,” I told him. “Hopefully I can find her before she’s hurt.” I didn’t want to think about what would happen if she was already injured.

  Rasmussen nodded and zipped the bag shut, then swung it over his shoulder and led the way out of the apartment. While he went to his car, I turned down the alley.

  I doubted he’d take her to the warehouse. That was too obvious. She wasn’t at his hotel. There were any number of places where he could have hidden her.

  Why Rosie?

  Aleksander had to know taking her was going to make Marcella angry. He obviously knew trying to get her at Marcella’s was suicide, hence why they’d waited until Rosie was away from the shop. Could he have figured out she was related to Jozef somehow and was using her to keep him at bay?

  He wasn’t stupid, so I doubted that was it. However…

  Aleksander had never really given the respect due to the older ones that they deserved. They assaulted his ego with their very existence. He didn’t like admitting they were so much more than he could ever be, especially those with old infections like Marcella and Jozef.

  And me.

  He wanted me on his side because people saw that in me.

  He wanted me to keep them away from him.

  I knew it as soon as the thought hit me.

  He had taken Rosie because he believed my presence would keep Marcella and possibly Jozef from attacking him over it.

  The bastard thought I was going to protect him.

  Given our history, he had to know I wasn’t going to play his games like that. Why would he think I was going to protect him? No…not him.

  Rosie.

  He knew I’d protect Rosie.

  My mind churned over that and the possibilities for several minutes as I walked. I made my way back to Rosie and Nicholas’ house, hoping to maybe pick up her or Trina’s scent there strong enough I could follow it. I knew it was a long shot, but had to try. It was the only lead I had.

  By the time I reached the house, I had a good idea of what Aleksander was likely planning. I stood a little ways back in the alley, watching for anyone around. I didn’t want to be seen wandering around the house acting suspicious, especially since I knew it was only a matter of time before someone found Nicholas’ body.

  “They took her south.”

  I recognized Gianna’s voice immediately and turned to look at her. She stood a short ways down the alley, staying between a dumpster and brick wall.

  “You’re here looking for the girl, right?” she asked me. She came out away from the dumpster, but stayed a distance away from me. Her tone still had that angry note to it. So did her expression.

  “Do you know where she is?” I asked her.

  “Maybe,” she shrugged. “There are a few places he’d have had them take her. Places he hopes you can’t find.”

  “Where?” I asked her, my tone even, but letting her know I didn’t want to play any games. I wasn’t going to spend my day on a wild chase around the city.

  “I can show you,” she told me. “But if they see you coming, they’ll likely have orders to kill her. Aleksander doesn’t entirely trust you.”

  “I don’t entirely trust him,” I pointed out.

  She nodded. “This way.” She turned to go back down the alley and I turned to follow her. I wondered if it was a trap and flexed my fingers slowly.

  “And why should I trust you?” I asked her. She walked quickly, but stayed on street level. I very much wanted to grab her and yank her up onto the rooftops so we could go faster.

  She glanced up at me. “What choice do you have?” she asked in return.

  “More than you think.”

  She stopped and looked at me for a long moment.

  “You won’t find her on your own,” she told me. “Not in time anyway. Otherwise you’re at Aleksander’s mercy for when he’ll release her.”

  “You think he’ll release her?”

  She shrugged with one shoulder. “I suppose that depends on why he took her.”

  Yes, it did. And I had a very good idea of why that was.

  Unfortunately, she was right, though. The odds were greatly against me finding Rosie on my own.

  We walked for some time, as near as I could figure it was nearly four miles before she stopped. Extending her claws, she jumped up onto a nearby balcony, then up onto the roof of the building opposite it. I followed her as she walked across the roof to the far side, then crouched down by the edge of the roof.

  We were by an old run down apartment building. Weeds choked the courtyard and a trashcan had been tipped over, the garbage strewn across the ground. A scrawny dog was chained by the stairwell, jumping and barking at anyone who walked by.

  “In there?” I asked, motioning to the building.

  Gianna nodded, staying crouched, she moved along the edge of the roof, her eyes pinned on the building.r />
  “On the west side, the top floor,” she said. She pointed to a window third from the right once she got to the corner of the building we were on. “That one, with the broken window.”

  I nodded, testing the air. I was at the wrong angle to get a clear collection of scents. Crouching slightly, I jumped to the ground, moving carefully closer to the stairs and door.

  Yes, there it was.

  Rosie.

  My heart pounded when I caught her scent, leading inside the building. No blood scent. No death scent. She was alive.

  I had seen Rosie defend herself before and had to wonder how they’d gotten her subdued. I suppose it was possible they’d surprised her and knocked her out, or possibly arranged for Nicholas to have had a hand in it.

  I debated just leaving to tell Marcella I’d found her, but wasn’t sure I had enough time. I’d lost enough time already before I needed to meet with Aleksander again.

  I didn’t predict this to be a very positive meeting.

  Gianna jumped down next to me. “Is she here?” she asked me.

  I nodded my head. “How many are likely to be inside with her?”

  Gianna shook her head. “Anywhere from three to five,” she replied. “He’s kidnapped girls before and held them here for ransom with that many to watch them. I doubt he’d have more now.”

  That explained how she knew where Rosie might be.

  I turned to look down at her. “Why are you helping me?” I asked her. I watched her face, waiting for any sign of deception when she replied.

  “He lied to me,” she said. There was nothing that made me think she was lying. “And what he’s doing is wrong. He’s lying to all of them.” She looked up at me and I felt the familiar flinch at my appearance. “He’s hurting people.”

  For all her appearances when I first met her, now she was letting me see the real her. The part of herself that Aleksander had possibly never seen. Being asked to become someone or something else was one thing. Asking someone to compromise the values and morals at their core was an entirely different thing. She’d been willing to become Aleksander’s partner, but wasn’t willing to sell her soul to do it.

  “That’s usually how he works,” I told her.

  She nodded. “It might be easier if I go in alone,” she told me. “He may have told them to be expecting you.”

  “Can you take on five of them on your own?” I asked her. I seriously doubted it. I, however, could.

  “Rosie can fight, can’t she?” she asked me. “She’s the one I heard Aleksander talking about who was taught how to kill us?”

  Oh, that didn’t bode well. It meant Aleksander had been watching Marcella and Rosie for some time.

  I nodded. “She can, but not if she’s unconscious or drugged.”

  Gianna seemed to consider that, then nodded her head. “Wait out here,” she told me. “If I need help, I’ll break the window.”

  “I’ll come in through the window,” I told her.

  She nodded and walked over to the stairs. I listened, counting her footsteps as she walked down the hall, then up the stairs. Fifteen stairs, a landing, fifteen more stairs. The same for the next four floors. Then her footsteps walking down a hall.

  I made my way down the side of the building. Extending my claws, I moved to a spot that would allow me to get a clear jump to a deck that looked like it might still be sturdy enough to hold me.

  While I waited, I looked back down at my claws. Still yellow and white. Not the oily black and green from my dream. My fingers still burned, the pain deep inside.

  My attention was drawn to the sound of knocking from the room where Rosie was, then muffled voices that I couldn’t quite make out. Someone in the apartment below was playing their television overly loud, making it hard to hear.

  There was no mistaking, however, the sudden crash and yell, then two loud thumps. I tensed myself, listening, trying to concentrate and match sounds to movements. I heard another thump, then Gianna swearing loudly before another crash.

  I was about to jump up to the deck anyway, then work my way up to the room, when the window above opened and Gianna stuck her head out.

  “You’d better get up here,” she called down to me. “Rosie was bit by one of them.”

  Chapter Twenty One

  Fear and Acceptance

  I now know I can jump almost three stories when the situation demands it. And this situation demanded it.

  I made it to the deck of the apartment in two jumps. I pulled the sliding door off its track to get inside. Three bodies lay scattered around the room, all of them infected. I could smell it almost like a thick cloud in the apartment. One had a bloody hole by his temple with a piece of wood sticking out of it. The other two lay in crumpled heaps by the door. I heard one of them moan and walked over. Kicking him hard, he rolled onto his back from the force, moaning again. With a deep growl, I slashed with my claws, severing his head. I looked at the other one and saw the ragged slashes across his neck. Gianna had obviously tried to cut off his head, but didn’t know how. I slashed again, sending his head rolling before I turned to look at Rosie where she sat huddled on a chair.

  She was shaking, her arms wrapped around her stomach.

  “Rosie?” I walked over to her and crouched down in front of her while Gianna stood by, checking the hallway and out the window.

  “Michael?” she looked up at me, then threw her arms around my neck. Only when I pulled her close did I feel her start crying.

  “Gianna said you were bit,” I held her for a moment, then gently pulled her back from me so I could look at her. “Where and by which one?”

  “I—I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head and drying her tears with the back of one hand. “I had it when I woke up.”

  Woke up. So they’d knocked her out somehow. Or drugged her. But she’d obviously been able to kill one of those watching her once Gianna got there. The one with the wood through his temple was definitely her kill.

  “What happened?” I asked her.

  “Nick called and said I needed to come get my stuff early, he was going out of town and had someone coming by to see about selling the house,” she said. “I called Detective Rasmussen and he had a couple of cops come take me over. I only saw Nick when I got there. He told me he needed to talk to me and went back to the bedroom with me. The next thing I know, I see the cops driving away and then everything went black. I woke up here with this.” She pulled up the side of her shirt, showing me a deep bite on her side. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it. It was definitely done with the rage of someone in a feeding cycle. I leaned in, looking closely at it. I didn’t see any black specks, but if it had happened right after they took her, they’d have been absorbed into her blood by now.

  “Rosie,” I shook my head. Not Rosie. Not Rosie. Not Rosie.

  If anyone deserved to be spared from this life, it was Rosie. I sighed and stood up, pulling her to her feet. I needed to get her somewhere safe.

  “You’re out of this,” I told her. “You’re grandmother’s already going to tear things apart over you being bit. You’re not going to help us at the warehouse. If anything else happened to you, it would destroy her.”

  “Michael, you need my help,” she told me. “There’s too many of them.”

  “I’ll help,” Gianna said, coming to stand by us. “It won’t matter if any of them bite me.”

  “How many of them are there going to be?” I asked her, looking over at her.

  “He’s expecting trouble, that’s why he’s told everyone to be there,” Gianna replied. “So expect over a hundred. That’s how many he’s got in this city.”

  In this city. Great.

  I suppose one thing at a time.

  “Michael--” Rosie’s voice faltered and I turned to look at her. “What about Nick?” she asked me.

  Do I tell her and hurt her more? It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to find out eventually anyway. But maybe I could spare her the details.

  “Dead,�
� I told her. She definitely didn’t need to know Marcella was who killed him or how.

  She sighed, putting one hand over her mouth, then nodded.

  “Did they drug you with anything?” I asked her.

  “I don’t think so,” she shook her head.

  “Judging by how she was moving, I’d say no,” Gianna supplied.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I stood up, pulling Rosie to her feet. She seemed a little shaky and stayed right by my side as we left the room. Gianna walked ahead, watching for any signs of trouble while I stayed with Rosie.

  “I’m taking you somewhere safe,” I told Rosie. “I’ll tell Marcella what happened.”

  Rosie nodded, but I could tell she wanted to argue.

  “You don’t remember anyone other than Nicholas at the house?” Maybe she could remember something, anything, that might give me someone to look for who might have bitten her.

  She shook her head. “I’m not even sure who knocked me out,” she replied. “But I’ve got a pretty good knot on the back of my head.”

  I nodded. Outside, we walked in silence for a bit before I turned to Gianna. “I thought you were going home,” I told her.

  Gianna shrugged. “Home’s a very long ways away and I’m not sure there’s anything there for me, either.”

  I nodded. I could relate.

  “It’s probably best if you aren’t involved anymore,” I told Gianna.

  I slowly clenched my hands into fists, trying to ignore the burning deep inside each finger.

  “Too late,” she returned. “I’m going after Aleksander whether you want me to or not. But just between us, I’d rather be on your side than on my own.”

  I paused, looking up at the sun, then around at the shadows. I’d have to guess it was about midday. Still several hours until Aleksander’s meeting.

  I had an idea.

  “You said you know he’s lying to others?”

  Gianna nodded. “I was there and heard him myself.”