A Vampire's Thirst: Flint

by A. K. Michaels

  Flint motioned with his arm, arcing it to the side to tell Quinn which way he wanted him to go as he took the opposite position he wished, getting behind where his prey was standing. He focused on Kragen’s form first, saw the man watching the bloody battle he’d set in motion and the anger that had been coursing through him inflamed, expanding and swelling inside him until his entire body was encompassed with a rage that overwhelmed him—mind, body and soul.

  They were near now, so damn near he could scent the excitement running through the fucker as he stood calmly observing the battle . . . until his body stiffened. Finally sensing a threat, Kragen’s head started to turn but Flint was ready, his daggers already lifting in his hand and his eye locked onto his targets. As soon as the Vampire’s head spun far enough around he let fly, it was a long throw but his aim was true and both his blades hit home, each piercing an eyeball with such force they carried right on through, lodging deep inside and he dropped like a stone.

  Shouts sounded out as the men in the group were alerted and at that moment, Victor sprang into action, bolts of power flying from him and lighting up the land like the Fourth of July. Flint couldn’t risk looking to see what was happening though because Kragen’s men’s attention was now fully on him and Quinn. With Ace and Talon trailing behind, it was just the two of them and they were sorely outnumbered . . . time to step up and take out as many as possible, as quickly as they could, or they would be in trouble fast if they were overwhelmed.

  Quinn tore on, his fangs out and his eyes blazing red, his legs powering him up into the air as he leaped at least twenty feet high, his fingers lengthening and claws springing free . . . long, sharp and deadly. Damn, they were the same size as the daggers Flint still held and would inflict some fucking damage, and that’s exactly what happened when he landed within a group of men; wolves that had rushed toward him. His arms moving with lightning speed, slashing and carving up his assailants as they wailed and tried to fend his attack off to no avail. Quinn continued his assault until they dropped to the ground in a torn and bloody mess, moving on to the next group who were closing in on him fast.

  Flint’s attention was drawn back to the three thugs heading his way, two shifters and a Vamp, with Stelian keeping his distance, a wary look in his eyes. Dare he say it . . . fear creeping over his countenance as he recognized Flint. Good. He wanted that animal to fear him. He wanted him good and scared by the time he got his hands on him. Terror always made the pain worse, so much worse, that he couldn’t wait to hear him screaming as he slid the silver tipped blades inside him. Flint allowed himself a brief second to lock eyes with Stelian, curling his lips back to snarl viciously, allowing his unadulterated hatred to flow free as he roared, “I’m coming for you!”

  Stelian staggered back as if Flint’s words struck him like a physical blow, his face paling and eyes widening as he looked around for a way out . . . but there was none. With Victor and the rest of the men wreaking havoc on one front, the battle behind him, and Flint coming for him, Stelian had nowhere to go. Instead he grabbed two bodyguards, placing them before him and hid behind them. Yeah, as if that would stop Flint. Stupid fuck had no idea what was coming his way . . . no idea at all.

  Flint’s three opponents arrived, shifters in front, Vampire behind and he began their dance of death. His body moved with a grace of a dancer, feinting to the side as one of the shifters started to morph . . . mid-transformation, his huge jaws snapped, missing Flint by millimeters but that’s all he required. Spinning around and using his vast strength, he wrapped one arm around the partial man-Wolf, slicing straight across his throat with a blade, arcing it back and plunging it straight into the back of the neck, severing the spinal column . . . the entire episode taking a mere second or two.

  Releasing the beast to flop forward, Flint ducked, feeling more than hearing another attack, and sure enough the other Wolf was already transformed and leaping for him, jaws agape. If he hadn’t dipped his body down his head would, at that very moment, be within the beast’s mouth. As it was, the Wolf soared above him, Flint’s lightning reflexes saving him, both hands spearing upwards to gut it from forelegs to hind as its momentum carried it flying overhead. Its innards spilling free in a bloody and filthy mess as the beast’s howl of agony ripped free and filled the air around them.

  Flint didn’t flinch, falling to the side and rolling over and up onto his feet to face the Vampire he knew to be still waiting and ready to attack. However, when he landed in a fighting stance he found Talon and Ace tackling him . . . at least Ace he knew and he guessed it was Talon. A massive dark brown Wolf tore at a Vamp’s thigh, its jaws encompassing it entirely and snapping shut while Ace placed a killing blow with deadly precision using a foot-long blade, arcing it around with a mighty blow that finished with one of the cleanest decapitations Flint had ever witnessed.

  “Fuck, that was good,” he praised Ace. “You’ve done that before . . . I’ll bet.”

  Ace looked over at him grimly, shrugging. “Once or twice.”

  “Incoming,” Flint spat out as more of Kragen’s men found them and they spread out to tackle them, fighting together to finish this as quickly as they could.

  There weren’t many left now, only a few until he could reach Stelian and his boss and he fought like a man possessed to make it happen. Every ounce of his power flowing freely as he dispatched anyone that stood in his way, leaving Ace and Talon behind as he made ground toward Kragen and Stelian who still hid behind two huge bodyguards. Really? Did he think they’d save him from his wrath? What a fool he was. Nothing could help him now. Nobody would be able to stop him. Nothing, not even if the Devil himself came and stood between them . . . Flint would still reach the bastard and make him pay.

  Chapter 25

  When he’d torn the head from the body of the last man standing between them he stopped, looking down and seeing he was covered in blood and gore. A notion flitting through his mind that he’d need a long hot shower when he returned to Kenzie . . . a smile turning his lips up when a vision of his Bloodmate filled his head. Quickly followed by anger once again as his eyes fell upon Stelian and Kragen who was starting to squirm around on the ground, moaning in pain.

  Quinn jogged over to him, the stench of blood reaching him well before the man himself. “Are you okay?” Quinn asked as he slid to a stop on the slick ground.

  “I’m fine . . . you?”

  “I’m okay. Not had a workout like that in a while. It was . . . exhilarating.” Quinn checked behind them. “Ace and Talon are fine, thank goodness.”

  “I know.” Flint nodded.

  “Looks like Victor came through too. The other group’s been decimated. There’s nothing but a bloody mess of charred bodies over there.” Quinn’s voice was filled with something akin to wonder, although it was obvious he tried to hide it.

  “Yeah, I knew he would. He doesn’t let fly like that often, but in an open space like this, well, hell’s fire, he can do whatever the hell he wants.”

  “My ears are burning.” Victor joined them, arriving in a flash of speed. “You talking about me?”

  “Me? Not at all.” Quinn shrugged, nodding toward where Kragen and Stelian were. “What do you want to do? And how do we stop the fighting?”

  “I’m going to kill them. First, I’ll do Kragen and you can take his head . . . carry it back there and show it to everyone. That should do the trick. Don’t you think?” Flint said coldly, no emotion in any syllable. None whatsoever. “Then I want you to leave. I’ve got plans for Stelian and I’d prefer not to have an audience.”

  “I’m staying.” Victor’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I won’t leave you, my friend, not here, not ever.”

  “Fine.” He turned, his eyes raised to Victor’s. “Don’t talk, don’t try and stop me and don’t ever mention what happens here today ever again.”

  Victor turned his head away for a brief moment, then back again, tipping it curtly. “If that’s what you want. I’ll abide by your wishes.”
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br />   “That’s exactly what I want,” Flint replied coldly, his eyes returning to Stelian. “He’s going to understand what it means to have caused the suffering and pain he’s doled out. All of it. Every last man, woman and child . . . he’s going to feel their pain before I end him.”

  Flint returned his focus back to the small group, determination thrumming through him to end things as he glared ferociously at Stelian whose head was swiveling around with wild panic in his eyes. A moment later he took off, speeding away using his Vampire abilities and leaving the bodyguards who were cursing loudly after him.

  “Fucking coward,” Flint turned to go after him, torn as he glanced at Kragen who’d managed to rip the daggers from his face and, although he was still blind, he was on his knees, crawling across the ground.

  “I’ll get him and bring him back.” Victor gave him a shove. “You deal with him. I promise to bring him back in one piece.”

  “Fine,” Flint barked out orders to the rest. “You lot can deal with those two while I take care of Kragen.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Quinn agreed and they moved off at a far slower pace so Ace and Talon’s Wolf could keep up.

  It was over in moments . . . the bodyguards overwhelmed by Quinn, Ace and Talon, taken down so fast that they barely had time to react to the blitz attack. Quinn’s speed and ferocious assault leaving their bodies lying in a bloody heap, unrecognizable as anything more than a tangle of humanoid remains. Add into that the fact that Talon’s Wolf had added his massive jaws and there wasn’t a damn thing they’d been able to do.

  That left Kragen kneeling on the ground, his hands in the air before him as he pleaded for his life like the dirty coward he was. Flint reached down, snatching a handful of his hair and hissing. “Not so fucking brave now . . . are you? You’re only brave when you’ve got your men there with you and you’re dealing with those weaker than you . . . isn’t that right?”

  Releasing him, he shoved him away to fall back onto the ground, his yelp of surprise followed by a grunt of pain making Flint’s heart flutter with excitement.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Kragen shot back, struggling to get back up, slipping on the pooled blood that soaked the ground and falling down once more.

  “Me? My name’s Flint and I’m the one that’s going to end you once and for all. You’ll be dead within the next thirty seconds but I’m going to tell you why . . . her name’s Kenzie. She’s the one you’ve come here for and she’s mine. You hear that? She’s fucking mine and you’re going to die because you and your fucking bastard lowlife, Stelian, dared to touch her.”

  Kragen fought to regain his knees, his voice high-pitched as he shot back, “You fucking bastard . . . my men will hunt you down, they’ll . . .”

  “Do shit all.” Flint leaned down, his laughter brittle as he grabbed Kragen’s hair again. “Because I’m cutting the head off the proverbial snake and when they learn they’re not getting paid . . . I’m betting they’ll turn fucking tail and run. And if they don’t? Well, I’ll kill the whole damn lot of them. Every fucking one of them and I won’t stop until each one of them is dead. The land will run with a river of their blood, you cocksucking bastard. You hear that? A river of their blood!”

  Kragen opened his mouth to answer but Flint didn’t give him the opportunity, instead his free hand snatched a silver tipped dagger from his belt with superspeed, his arm arcing back and flying forward with a speed that was impossible to see. He used every ounce of his strength, anger, and hatred as he plunged the blade into the top of Kragen’s head, right in the middle and pushed it all the way inside . . . so far that it punctured his brain and lodged there. It wouldn’t kill him outright but the pain would be unimaginable and that’s exactly what he wanted . . . for the next few seconds anyway.

  Releasing the blade, he held his hand out behind him. “Ace, can I borrow yours, please? The big fucker so I can lop off this bastard’s head?”

  “My pleasure.” Ace stepped up, placing the hilt of his blade into Flint’s palm. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” Flint hefted the weight of the weapon. “This’ll do nicely.”

  And it did. With his strength and the razor-sharp edge, Flint held Kragen’s head high within seconds, turning to present it to Quinn. “There you go. That should do the trick. If it doesn’t . . . I’ll carry through on my promise.”

  Quinn glanced at the body of Kragen then at Flint, before motioning for Ace to take the offering before he replied, “I’ve no doubt that you will, but I sincerely hope that it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Me too.” Flint’s jaw ticked, his shoulders rolling. “But I won’t allow his kind to win. Not happening, Quinn, not fucking happening.”

  “Understood.” Quinn stepped forward, his hand landing on Flint’s shoulder. “I’ll see you soon, and if this goes as we hope, I’ll get accommodation organized for Victor and have things more amenable for your return to your Bloodmate.”

  Flint didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His throat had inexplicably grown thick with emotion.

  Quinn appeared to understand, he nodded once, turned and walked away, Ace and Talon following.

  “I’m back!” Victor threw Stelian down at Flint’s feet, a little bloodied but otherwise intact.

  Flint turned his full attention to the man who’d so carelessly inflicted such a heinous injury on Kenzie and then decided it was a good idea to go ahead and rape her in a filthy alley. The man’s face filled with fear as he saw the hatred in Flint’s eyes and the deadly intent that shone within.

  “I can get you money! Lots of money! I know all his passwords!”

  Victor snorted and Flint just glared at him. Money. He thought he’d get out of this with money? Was he an imbecile?

  The scent of his fear was overpowering. The stench of it filling the area around them but it didn’t sway Flint on his course of action. He didn’t waver, not for a second, as he hauled Stelian to his feet with one hand while retrieving a knife with the other, he pulled his face close to his. The man’s pupils mere pinpricks, all fight gone, and he didn’t even struggle while Flint cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing him silently. Stelian’s attention so absorbed on his face that he didn’t observe his hand with the dagger sliding up behind him until it was too late.

  Flint was a master with blades, knives, daggers . . . not just throwing and wielding them in battle. He knew where to use them for every occasion, and how to exact pain in the extreme, or for any means necessary. Right now, he wanted something specific and that was—he slid the blade in quickly, just at the right spot at the base of Stelian’s neck—to paralyze the fucker but still have his pain receptors firing. Stelian’s body froze in place, his eyes the only part of him able to move and those were darting about in a frenzy of panic while Flint stepped back, sighing with relief that he finally had him exactly where he wanted him.

  “You should go, Victor.” Flint tried once more to make his friend leave.

  “I’m staying, brother.” Victor stepped away, arms crossed. “I won’t interfere and I understand why you need to do this . . . but I’m not leaving you.”

  “Rule remains,” Flint choked out.

  “I understand,” Victor acknowledged.

  “I’m going to explain something,” Flint spoke with no inflection, his voice a monotone. “I saw exactly what you did to her, my Bloodmate. I saw it through her eyes, felt it how she did, every emotion, her fear, her terror, every fucking thing . . . the synapses firing inside her brain when she knew what you were going to do to her in that alley—rape her right there in the squalor and dirt. No thought for her injuries, no thought for her pain, no thought for her dignity. I saw . . . and felt every-fucking-thing!”

  Flint cracked his neck and began . . . the silver tipped blades his weapons of choice as he let loose his rage against the man who’d dared to hurt his love. The one who was going to violate her, who was going to sell her like a piece of meat and pass her around for others to use and abuse. Every single slice
of his blade stung, each cut as he removed parts of Stelian wrought agony that he could do nothing about, each wound he inflicted eased Flint’s fury a little bit at a time, slowly, so slowly. When he reached Stelian’s groin, he looked deep into the man’s tortured eyes and smiled coldly. “This is the end, Stelian. Once I remove this . . . this filthy thing that you were going to violate my beautiful mate with . . . then I will end you. I know you’re begging for it. For me to finish this, but you’ll have a few moments more of agony, because it’s not coming off in one cut. I’m taking it off a little at a time. Well, we’ll see how long that takes because looking at you now, it’s not that big. Is it?”

  Flint went to work, slicing and dicing until there was nothing left. His work finished all but the final act. “Ready to die, Stelian? Ready to meet your boss in Hell?”

  Opening his fingers and allowing the weapon of destruction he’d used to fall free, he looked down at the ground, running with blood and littered with so many body parts of the Vampire standing immobile before him. He felt no sorrow for what he’d done. None. But he did feel sadness for every victim of Kragen and Stelian’s. Each and every single one of them.

  Flint pulled his arm back, flexing his muscles and punching forward using every bit of strength left inside him to break right inside the Vampire’s chest cavity. His fingers sought the slow beating heart, finding it and wrapping tightly around it before ripping it free as a roar rumbled up and tore out of him . . . one that cleansed him of everything that had weighed him down since he’d first seen this bastard in that dark alley in Edinburgh.

  Crushing the heart in his fist before dropping it to the ground, Flint spun around, his leg rising to smash into Stelian’s body and send it crashing away from him. As soon as he did, Victor was at his side, his arms around him and pulling him against him.

  “Are you all right, brother?” Victor asked, his voice full of concern and anguish.