Blood Lust

by T. Lynne Tolles

  “All right. So what do you propose?”

  “We have two options and we wanted to run them past you first,” Darby said.

  “Really, you still want my opinion after I abandoned your quest and my brother?”

  “Of course, Blake. I need your help. I can’t do this without you and Dean. Anton, though he’s been horribly hurt by her, has too much ‘water under the bridge’ with her to kill her, although he said he will help as best he can. But Blake, you’re his brother. I need you more than anyone.”

  “So what are the options?”

  “Well, one is to wait for her to leave and go into the house, find him, hopefully, and get him to safety and then you, Dean, and Anton, take her out.”

  Dominic chuckled again, much to Blake’s surprise. Darby actually thought she saw him take a double take at the laughing Dominic.

  “The other option is for me to put Devon in a bubble when we find him, keeping him safe while we all take her out.”

  “Well, duh. The first plan is way better.”

  “It sounds that way, but think about it, a lot more things can go wrong with it. What if she figures it out and has Devon and me alone. I can’t fight a vampire with him practically dead. And if I have to give him blood like I did for Anton, I’ll be useless if she finds us.

  “If we are all together, we can protect each other and we all know she is taken care of. Plus, what if he’s not there? She sees she’s been figured out and disappears again, then we will never know where he is and he will most certainly die. If we are all together and we have Devon in our hands, we take care of her. If we go and Devon’s not there, then we can all coerce her into telling us where she has him stashed.”

  “What if he really is dead, Darby?” Blake said.

  “Then I guess we move on, right? I mean, what do you want me to say, Blake? Yeah, I’ll be devastated, but at least we know for sure. But just be aware that she will tell us he’s dead, either way.”

  “Well, then, what’s the point, Darby?”

  “Think about it, Blake. If you wanted to hide Rowan, tell the person who’s looking for her she’s dead. If they believe it, you go and get her when things are clear. The perfect cover up. She’s going to tell us he’s dead, whether he is or isn’t, if he’s not at that house.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We do what we had to do with Paine to find Rowan. We do what we had to do with Rachel. We do all we can and hope it is enough to find him, Blake. That’s all we can do.”

  “So if we go with Plan B, how do you see it going?”

  “I was hoping you’d come up with something; I’m full out of ideas,” Darby said.

  Listening to all this and finally slowing down enough on the pancakes, Dean raised his hand as if in a classroom. Darby said, “Sweetie, if you have something to say, just say it, you don’t have to raise your hand.”

  “Well, I just wanted to say that contrary to what you think of me, I’ve never killed anyone before and most definitely not a vampire.” Everyone stared at Dean with his mouth full of pancakes, stunned at his comment.

  “I’m sorry, Dean. That was presumptuous of me. Please forgive me,” Darby said. Dominic was utterly shocked and speechless.

  “No forgiveness necessary, I mean, if you think I can do this, I’m more than willing to try, I just wanted to let you know that I am not very experienced in, umm killing people. Give me a deer or a rabbit, no problem. I just, well, thought you should know,” and Dean went back to his pancakes.

  “I guess the only other question is do we go while she’s there, bombarding our way in, or do we wait till she leaves and wait for her to come back to attack? Any thoughts?”

  “I’m not sure it really matters unless you think that in bombarding her, she may get to Devon before we can protect him,” Anton said.

  “Good point, however, Devon always told me that you vampires can sense other vampires. How can we surprise her if that’s the case?” Darby said. “Blake, does part of the sensing another vampire have to do with reading their mind or is it scent?”

  “It’s more of a mind thing, wouldn’t you agree, Dominic?”

  “Yeah, I would say it’s more mind than scent, although she may smell the werewolf. She probably wouldn’t know what he was, but she may smell him. Please don’t take offense, Mr. Wolfe, but it is probably true for you too. I’m sure you can smell a vampire, am I correct?”

  “None taken. He’s right, though, there’s a definite scent for a vampire.”

  “But if she doesn’t know what it is, that may not send her into alarm. She would definitely be on the defensive if she sensed three vampires, though.”

  “Blake, can you block this telepathic sensing then? Say we go into vampire stealth mode? Dominic?”

  “I’ve never needed to use such a technique, but I suppose it would certainly bring her defenses down.”

  Mark said, “But didn’t you say, Darby, that her senses are special? Her gift of controlling a vampire’s mind is pretty rare; that’s got to make her more aware telepathically too, right?”

  “That’s true, Mark. Crap. How do we get around her gift? For that matter, how do we get around her controlling all the vampires and turning them on Dean, Mark, and me?”

  “Yikes, I don’t want to fight Blake or anyone else here,” Dean said.

  “Same here,” said Anton.

  “Blake, would a mental bubble confine her ability to control your minds?”

  “Yeah, I think you’re on the right track, Darby. You mean to put her in a bubble like Paine, only not without air, but concealing her telepathic abilities? Yeah, I think that could work. You’d have to concentrate on the shell of the bubble like you did to seal it from air, but think about thoughts being received and constricted. Then if someone pierces her with wood she’d become paralyzed and could not use her mind control at all. Good thinking. I think I have it now.

  “Dean, you and Darby are going to have to be the bait, she’ll sense any of us vampires. She’ll leave, Darby and Dean go in the house, hopefully finding Devon and wait for her to come back. She’ll smell Darby and be confused by Dean’s scent. She comes in; Darby, you zap her with your mental bubble and, Dean, you contact us via phone or text. We will be within running distance and we’ll take care of the rest.”

  Anton said, “That’s a stupid plan, Blake. That puts Darby in way too much danger along with Dean and Devon.”

  “Got something better, Anton?”

  “I think I do. I’m the bait. She’d give up Devon in a heartbeat if she knew she could have 100% pure blood again. I go to the house, tell her I’m there because I want the car back; I had a P.I. hunt it down.” He turned to Mark and smiled. “I’ll tell her Blake is visiting too and that Darby is staying with us again, and now that Devon has been out of the picture, she I and have become quite fond of each other. She’d have to come back to the house. She couldn’t resist that, especially if she thought there was something going on between Darby and me. I may even be able to find out where Devon is by talking to her, if he isn’t at the house. We set up the attack on our own turf.”

  Mark said, “That’s good. Very good, and it keeps Darby out of danger. From what Darby’s told me of Libby, she would not be able to resist that, even if she thought it might be dangerous. I was wondering too, about that Yew thing we talked about last night. Darby had said that a Yew arrow and some poison made from yew seeds was used to incapacitate Devon. I um, well, am a third year champion at archery myself. I could drop her from quite a distance where she’d never sense me.”

  “She’d hear the arrow coming,” Blake said.

  “Yes, she might, but if I stopped her, say at the front steps and kissed her, holding her steady as it came…” said Anton.

  “Yeah, she’d drop and from that distance it wouldn’t go all the way through so Anton would be safe and I would be safely behind the cottage.”

  “But what about Darby and Devon? If he’s in bad shape, she’s not going to be able t
o get him out on her own,” Blake said.

  “Dad could help Darby with Devon and get them to a safe place somewhere,” Anton said.

  Darby said, “Wait one second here, this will never work. You can barely think when she’s around. How could you talk her into coming to the house? Stop her at the front steps to kiss her if she’s the one in control? You couldn’t. But I might have a way that you could.”

  “How’s that?”

  “A psychic charm. It won’t be strong enough to ward off all her psychic abilities on you, but may be enough to do the things you have to. Like getting her to come back to the house with you and you being able to hold her in place for the arrow. It’s just a tiny velvet pouch, but it might be enough to help you from going over completely to the dark side.”

  Blake said, “She’s right, I’ve seen them in use along with other charms she’s made. I think it may be the edge we need. But Darby, we’re all going to need one to be safe. She’ll be able to manipulate Anton, me, and possibly Dean.”

  “Dean?” Dean said. “Why me? I’m not a vampire.”

  “Because of the similarities in our species. We both use telepathy to communicate. That may be the key to her power; if that’s the case you are just as susceptible as we are. Her gift can overpower those with telepathic abilities, rendering the ability useless to them, and very useful to her. There’s a very good chance she may have the same influence on you.”

  “Nasty vixen,” Dean said under his breath. Dominic couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Dominic will be with me so that means we need what, three? I have that with me in my bag. No problem.”

  “So Dominic, what will I need to make this yew poison?” Mark and Dominic left the room while they talked.

  Darby said, “So Dean will be here as a back up in case she’s able to wriggle free of Anton’s kiss and the arrow?”

  Blake said, “Yeah, that seems plausible.”

  “Anton, are you sure you want to take this chance with her again? She tried to kill you. If she has her way, she’ll try it again,” Darby said.

  “I feel rather responsible for her actions. She’s my wife after all. Seems only fair that I be the one to make this right.”

  “You are in no way responsible for her horrendous acts, Anton. You never were. You were the one used, abused, and never allowed to have love in your life. As far as I’m concerned she deserves death just for how she treated you, let alone Devon and the countless others. Don’t carry that with you, Anton. It’s hers to bear, not yours.”

  Anton raised his hand and touched her face, and she leaned into him. “You’re sweet, Darby, but I think this is the best way to take care of her and get you and Devon to safety.”

  Blake watched this and wasn’t too sure he liked what he was seeing, but decided it wasn’t really any of his business. A lot had happened in four months – way too much.

  Dominic popped his head in the room and said. “Mark and I are going to his place to get his stuff and we’re going to get some supplies for the arrows. You can reach us on my cell. Shall we meet back here by 1:00 to start implementing the plan? Mark’s friend, Wally, will keep us posted of her whereabouts and we will keep you posted.”

  “See you in a bit, Dominic,” Darby said, “Be careful. Bye, Mark, thanks for everything.”

  “No problem, Darby.”

  Darby went to her bag and gave Anton, Blake, and Dean a little pouch. She told Anton, “You need only put it in your pocket or something, just keep it close to you.”

  “Thanks, Darby.”

  “Dean,” Blake said, “let me take you on a tour. You can scope out some wolfie places to hide in case we need your assistance.”

  “Don’t call me wolfie, bat boy, or I’ll kick your skinny vamp butt all the way back to California,” Dean said as they left the room.

  Darby laughed at them. She looked back at Anton. “We really could come up with something that doesn’t put you in the line of fire, Anton.”

  “No, I think this is the best way. She’s comfortable here. She won’t suspect a thing.”

  “So what will you do? Let the poison take over? Have someone else kill her? What?”

  “I really hadn’t gotten that far in the plan. The poison would be the easiest. With her paralyzed she couldn’t manipulate us into helping her, but I’m just not sure I can watch her die.”

  “I suppose I can understand that. What about Dominic?”

  “I don’t know. Never seen him kill anyone either.”

  “Well, I know Blake can do it. I saw him take apart Terrence Paine. It certainly wasn’t pretty.”

  “You saw? I mean, you’ve seen him turn?”

  “I have, both him and Devon. It’s quite amazing. The crimson eyes, well, that’s a little creepy, but the teeth are gorgeous specimens. Don’t get me wrong; if a rogue vampire came after me and intended me to be his meal, I wouldn’t stop him to say, ‘Oh those are quite amazing teeth you have!’ I’d definitely be scared, I’m just saying knowing Devon and Blake and then seeing them turn, well, it’s quite an experience.”

  “You really are amazing, Darby. Do you find goodness and beauty in everything?”

  “Hardly…I see nothing good in Libby, aside from her beauty. I’ve never met anyone with a heart as small as hers, if she in fact has one. Even Paine, who was a horrible man, had a heart at least for his son and wife. So do you think Devon is still alive?”

  “I do, Darby, more now than ever before.”

  “Why more?”

  “I don’t know, maybe because we are so close, or maybe your optimism is wearing off on me. I just feel that if anyone here deserves some happiness after this mess, it should be you and Devon.”

  “Thank you, Anton. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a very long time. Thank you, too, for staying with me last night. I know you weren’t very comfortable, and I know it was stupid of me to be so…”

  “My pleasure, Darby.”

  “Do you think though, that after spending all this time with Libby, that Devon, I don’t know, may prefer her, now?”

  “Not at all. I think if anything, he’s good and over her now, seeing her without those rose-colored glasses he had on for so many years. I think the last four months have probably shown him how stupid he was for carrying that torch for as long as he did. No, I’m positive he’s seen Libby in her truest colors by now.”

  “So you think he will be happy to see me?”

  “Darby, I think he will be ecstatic to see you and if he isn’t I will kill him and have you for myself.”

  She smiled but she couldn’t help but wonder how Devon’s reaction would be at seeing her, if he was alive at all.

  Chapter 20

  An hour later, all were back at the house and helping Mark with the arrows and poison. The vampires kept their distance from the poison being made by Dean, Bernard and Mark, but they had plenty of people telling them what to do. That’s right, Bernard was right in there helping out, up to his elbows crushing yew seeds to Dominic’s specifications and adding them to the pot.

  “Oh and Bernard,” Dominic said, “Please be sure to throw out anything used in the kitchen to make this. The tiniest trace could be detrimental to any one of us.”

  “I most certainly will, Master Dominic. Consider it done.”

  “Good man, Bernard. Thank you!”

  “My pleasure, sir.”

  Blake set up a couple of hay bales he’d gotten from the stables down the road for Mark to do some warming up. He didn’t want him missing and hitting Anton.

  Blake was stunned at Mark’s accuracy. The grouping was no less then half an inch from the previous ones. No wonder he had won three years in a row. From then on, Blake referred to Mark as ‘On the Mark – Hood.’ Darby guessed it was a reference to ‘being on the mark’ and ‘Robin Hood,’ but who knew for sure with those guys. Mark, Blake, and Dean were pretty much inseparable after that. Mark fit right in with the other two; same sense of humor, competitive natur
e, and sweetness, though that was something they liked to keep under their ‘Hard as Nails’ personas.

  As a last bit of practice, Blake set the bales up on the porch of the house, where all had agreed was the best place to stand Libby for her deadly kiss. Mark stood on his cue, hidden by shrubs at the corner of the cottage, facing the main house – a clear shot. All stood back, just in case, and though Mark was off by a couple of inches from his previous tight grouping, all were confident that if all went right, Anton would be in no danger.

  Just in case though, Blake and Darby told them how they saved Devon from the poison arrow a few months back. Bernard was good enough to set up these supplies in the off chance that Libby moved and Anton was shot. Also as a backup plan, Dean had scoped out a place where he would be waiting in the event she tried to get away. And as a final precaution, Blake would have a stake covered in the poison and a hiding place where he would descend on her if she attempted to flee; with gloved hands, he would pierce her heart with the poisoned stake.

  Dominic had made some discreet calls to someone, in order to secure a safe place to take Devon and Darby once Libby followed Anton back to the house. Darby and Dominic would go into the Openheimer house, hopefully, grab Devon and get to the safe house. Dominic kept the location a secret to all so that if influenced somehow by Libby, no one would know where they were.

  He had also told Darby that he had confirmed the list of men were all alive so far, but he still was not able to get a hold of Simon Corbel, the one that Darby and Mark had seen Libby visit for only a few moments. They had thought at the time that she may have drained him that night because he was too weak to satisfy her cravings. But even if Simon hadn’t made it, the others were alive and could be brought back to health once their leech quit feeding on them.

  “That’s good news, Dominic. Very good news. I’m sorry we didn’t uncover all of this before Simon…” Darby said.

  “Considering we all gave up on Devon and you, I say we’re pretty damn lucky there aren’t a whole lot more dead, including my son. You have done more than your share to save as many as you could. Now it’s our turn to save you and Devon. So let’s get to it. Are we all ready?” Dominic announced in his booming voice.