Liquid crimson

by Carol Lynne

  “He said to tell you something about his friend Tim who lost a leg.”

  Neo’s fangs retracted. “Go on.”

  Audric’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed several times before continuing. “He also said Baby and Fido need you to listen.”

  Neo nearly gasped at the term of endearment he used for Michael. He actually smiled when he thought about Michael calling Gunnar Fido, which he’d done on several occasions. It was obvious Audric had gained Michael’s trust, but was the vampire honestly worthy of such a gift?

  “Where are they?” Neo asked, taking a step back.

  “Outside of Kiev in the Ukraine. LaMont owned a large chalet on the Desna River. That’s where you’ll find them.” Audric glanced over his shoulder at Ramiro. “I’m afraid you need to hurry. They have already turned your security man into one of us.”

  Neo’s breath caught in his chest. As much as the thought of Gunnar living through the change hurt, Neo knew Michael would never survive the pain that accompanied it. “And Michael?”

  Audric shook his head. “Sebastian tried to change him but met his death instead.” Audric finished the sentence with a slight grin. “It was most delightful to witness.”

  “His blood?” Neo asked.

  Audric nodded and turned serious once again. “They’re angry with him and have tried several times to kill him.”

  Neo grabbed his chest, rubbing at the unseen band constricting his breathing. Did he want to know? No. Not now. Still, the question remained. “Why have they been unsuccessful?”

  Audric shook his head. “I don’t know and neither do they, but that won’t stop them from continuing to try. That’s why we need to hurry.”

  “How many? Just the two left?”

  “No. Richard, Cedric, Sebastian and Liam continued Francois’ work, but the three remain in charge, leading an army of thirty men. All insane, all powerful.”

  Neo turned to address Ramiro. “How many men can you gather?”

  Ramiro rubbed the back of his neck. “It would be close, but I think calling in help from the Realm would be a smart move. Not only will we have additional back-up, we’ll also have the approval of the Realm to take whatever measures are necessary without repercussions.”

  Neo headed towards the door. “I’ll make the arrangements with Spiro. You contact Ian.”

  “What should I do?” Audric asked.

  Neo stopped. He’d forgotten about Audric. Although the vampire had been a big help, Neo still wasn’t convinced he could be trusted. He pulled out his phone and called Haig.

  “Yes?” Haig answered from outside the house.

  “I need you and Kern to guard someone while I make a few arrangements to rescue Michael and Gunnar.”

  “We’ll be right there,” Haig answered before hanging up.

  Neo looked at Ramiro. “Stay with Audric until Haig and Kern get here.”

  The expression on Audric’s face fell. It was obvious that he knew he wasn’t trusted.

  “I’m sorry,” Neo felt compelled to say.

  “I understand,” Audric mumbled, chin dropping to his chest.

  Confident that the situation in his study was under control, Neo went to the spare bedroom. He opened the door without knocking and found Spiro tending to Sema. Although the gorgeous black jaguar’s wounds had been healed by Spiro, the cat was still weak.

  Neo approached the bed. “I need your help.”

  Dragging his fingers through Sema’s thick black pelt, Spiro glanced up. “Anything.”

  * * * *

  Hours after Audric left, Gunnar’s screams began again. Michael fought against the iron restraints, agonised that he could not help his friend. Now that he knew what had been done to Gunnar, he was even angrier. Gunnar had been an alpha, proud of his werewolf heritage. As far as Michael knew, there were no other were/vampire hybrids. What would his new status do to Gunnar’s zest for life?

  Michael looked down at his nude body. He thought about the way the knife Cedric had plunged into his stomach had melted like chocolate. Would his blood do the same to the manacles holding him prisoner?

  Michael held up his arm and stared at the veins on the inside of his wrist. He took a deep breath. Thinking about chewing your arm until it bled and actually doing it were two entirely different things.

  Gunnar’s screams came again, making up Michael’s mind. He laid his arm on the stone floor and pushed the iron as far up his arm as it would go, knowing the skin on his wrist was thinner. If only I had Neo’s razor-sharp teeth, he thought, getting into position.

  Laying on his right side, Michael positioned the skin between his top and bottom canine teeth, and waited. As soon as Gunnar started to scream again, Michael bit down as hard as he could, using Gunnar’s anguish not only to help hide his own cry of pain but as incentive to do the job until it was finished.

  Although the pain wasn’t as bad as what had been meted out at the hands of Richard and Cedric, Michael started to doubt that he could actually go through with it. He was moments away from giving up when his teeth pierced a vein and the warm, coppery liquid filled his mouth. He spat the blood on the manacle holding his left wrist and nodded when it started to smoke. “Come on. Come on.”

  He leant down and sucked another mouthful of blood before moving the restraint on his right wrist to slide over the open and bleeding wound. He turned his head away from the awful smell of the disintegrating iron and dripped the blood in his mouth onto the other manacle.

  The fumes were almost overpowering but it was starting to work. Michael open and closed his fist, hoping there would be enough blood to do the job. When he was at last free of his restraints, it took him several moments to stand. The days without food or water were further weakening his already lean body. Using the wall for support, Michael made it to the large wooden door.

  The blood flow on his wrist was already slowing to a trickle. With no other option, Michael once again bit into the sore and tender flesh, renewing the strong flow of his toxic blood. He smeared as much on the door as he could gather but nothing happened. “Shit.”

  With his hands braced on the door, Michael tried to think. Why had it worked before? As he stood there feeling his whole plan slip through his fingers, a single drop of blood landed on the iron door handle. Michael grinned when he watched the blood start to bubble and the handle smoke. He stepped back and studied the door, three hinges but only one lock. The choice seemed obvious and he squeezed his wrist until the wound began to drip once more.

  In no time he was out the door and running towards Gunnar’s incessant screaming. Four doors down, Michael tore at the wound and smeared his blood across the door handle. “I’m coming,” he whispered.

  His hands began to shake when he heard voices heading his way. No. No. Michael used every ounce of his strength to push the door open, the handle falling to the floor with a loud clink.

  “Stay away!” Gunnar growled in a half vampire, half wolf garble.

  Michael’s heart skipped a beat at his first look at the creature his friend had become. “It’s okay. I’ll get you out of here.”

  “Kill me,” Gunnar pleaded. “Please. Before I kill you. They refuse to feed me,” Gunnar managed to say well enough for Michael to understand.

  Michael shook his head. “I won’t kill you.” He studied the iron stakes pinning Gunnar to the wooden table, unsure of how to proceed. If he dripped his blood onto the iron it would come into contact with Gunnar’s flesh. Michael had seen, first hand, what his blood did to others.

  He stared down at Gunnar. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Get out!” Gunnar growled.

  “No. I won’t leave you like this.”

  “Then bend down and let me bite you. I would rather be dead than live like this,” Gunnar said.

  “That’s what Neo thought, too, but I’m glad he never succeeded in killing himself.” Michael reached out and grasped the edge of the table for support as the lack of food, water and blood caught up with h
im. “I would never forgive myself if you died because of me,” he managed to say.

  Loud noises from above startled Michael, making him jump. After a few seconds, he slumped to the floor, his reserve energy gone. “Neo’s here,” he managed to say before closing his eyes.

  * * * *

  While Kildare’s men and guards from the Realm battled the vampires from LaMont’s coven, Neo scanned the large room for Richard and Cedric. “Where would they be hiding?” he asked Audric.

  Audric squeaked when one of his own coven grabbed him. Neo took care of the vampire with ease, lopping off his head with a borrowed sword. “Talk,” Neo ordered Audric.

  The small, frightened vampire recoiled from the headless body as it fell to the floor. “Probably in the dungeon.” He motioned towards a hallway. “Third door on the right.”

  Neo looked around. He couldn’t check two places at once, but the only guards not engaged in fighting the coven were wolves. Motioning for Kern, Neo addressed Audric. “Stick close to Kern.”

  As soon as Kern made his way across the room, Neo subtly pushed Audric towards him. “Watch him. When Ramiro gets a break, send him downstairs.”

  Kern nodded and backed Audric into an alcove to the side of the large reception room.

  With Audric taken care of, Neo set out to find his mate. Sword in hand, he scanned his surroundings as he made his way down the hall. Before opening the door to the dungeon, as Audric had called it, Neo pressed his ear against the door. An ambush by Cedric and Richard would only jeopardise his chance of getting Michael and Gunnar out alive.

  The noise coming from the battle raging down the hall precluded Neo from hearing anything beyond the heavy wooden door. He held his sword aloft and opened the door in one swift movement, prepared to destroy anyone who dared get in his way.

  A winding staircase of stone was all that greeted him. Satisfied, Neo made his way down the steps with his back against the wall. The smells wafting up from below were a combination of must, moisture, blood and his mate. Gunnar’s screams echoed in the cavernous space, setting Neo further on edge.

  A noise sounded from the top of the steps and Neo turned, his sword at the ready.

  “It’s me,” Ramiro whispered, coming into view.

  Neo nodded and continued his descent into the bowels of LaMont’s sadistic playground. With each step the aroma of blood, both old and new, grew stronger. How many people had been tortured within the stone walls of the dungeon? He definitely agreed with Audric on the description of the lower level.

  Although not the dungeon he’d been imprisoned in, the aged stone walls gave off a wet, musty smell that brought back memories Neo had tried for hundreds of years to forget. The Realm guards rushing in to rescue him, the fury in LaMont’s eyes as metal stakes were driven through his hands and feet to pin him to the same table where he’d tortured Neo. The delight Neo had taken in slowly, painfully, removing LaMont’s head from his body still haunted him. He’d retreated to life on the vineyard almost immediately, afraid he’d become the monster LaMont set out to create. It wasn’t until he’d opened himself to Michael’s love that he knew the man he once was, was still inside of him.

  At the bottom of the staircase, Neo once again prepared himself for battle. He tried to block out Gunnar’s cries as he concentrated on finding the vampires he was after. With Ramiro watching his back, Neo made his way through the maze of rooms, stopping in each one. Richard and Cedric had to be there somewhere. They wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of kidnapping Michael if they planned to run at the first hint of a rescue attempt.

  Ramiro elbowed Neo and pointed towards a hallway. “Fresh blood,” he whispered.

  Neo nodded. He’d known the moment he stepped into the dungeon where Michael and Gunnar were being held. “We need to find Cedric and Richard.”

  Rumbling laughter rolled its way down the passageway.

  Neo knew that laugh. Cedric. Evidently Neo wasn’t the only one to recognise Francois’ first creation. Ramiro stepped in front of Neo and unsheathed his other sword.

  “So glad you brought my favourite toy back for me to play with,” Cedric said.

  “Fuck you,” Ramiro spat, moving down the hall.

  Neo glanced at Ramiro. What was the connection between the two vampires? Gunnar’s screams began again. Neo’s head of security never acknowledged pain or injuries, so whatever Gunnar was experiencing had to be bad. The cries threatened to drag Neo down into the hole he’d only just begun to climb out of. Memories of having sheets of skin slowly stripped from his body by Francois assaulted him. Yes, he’d screamed in a similar fashion. So much blood. Hunger unlike anything he’d ever known. Francois lapping at the blood as it flowed freely from Neo’s wounds.

  A charging cry from Ramiro snapped Neo out of the scream-induced trance he’d suddenly found himself in. Although he reacted quickly, Ramiro was already in the room when Neo caught up.

  “Don’t move a muscle,” Cedric growled, the tip of an ornately carved dagger pressing against Michael’s throat.

  Dropping his sword, Neo’s eyes narrowed as his body began to transform into the creature he detested. In the past, he’d lost control and slipped into a partial shift but never had he allowed himself to lose complete and utter control over his own body. The sight of his mate, unconscious, and at Cedric’s mercy, was more than the monster hidden within Neo could handle.

  With Gunnar screaming to be fed in the background, Neo raced forward at the speed of light. He grabbed Cedric by the throat and threw him against the far wall, utilising the superior strength given to him by his father. As the mortar around the stones crumbled upon impact, the centuries-old wall began to topple, one stone at a time.

  Cedric rolled away from the falling wall, but Neo was one step ahead of him. He reached for Cedric once more and dug his nails into the life-giving veins in the vampire’s neck, throwing him towards a starving Gunnar. “Feed what you made,” Neo growled at Cedric.

  Ramiro was already beside Gunnar and managed to catch the flying body. He pressed Cedric’s open wound against Gunnar’s mouth. Because of the temperature of the blood, it wasn’t ordinary for vampires to feed from one another but it was better than watching Gunnar go insane.

  Gunnar used his fangs to rip and shred the flesh, gulping the recycled blood from Cedric’s veins.

  Neo bent and scooped Michael off the cold floor and into his arms. Michael’s beating heart soothed Neo’s fears, although he longed to see his mate’s big blue eyes. With Michael hugged against his chest, Neo returned his attention to Cedric who was quickly becoming drained.

  “Can you take care of this?” he asked Ramiro.

  Ramiro nodded. “I’ll finish him off once Gunnar’s had enough.”

  “Get Gunnar back to the vineyard as quickly as you can. Cedric’s blood won’t sustain him for long.”

  “I remember,” Ramiro replied, breaking Cedric’s arm when the fool had the nerve to swing at him.

  The satisfying crack as Cedric’s bone snapped, pleased Neo. LaMont’s coven had committed unspeakable acts, and they deserved everything they got.

  “I’ll get Michael to safety and come back for Richard. He’s got to be here somewhere. Neo placed a kiss to Michael’s forehead before hoisting him over his shoulder. He retrieved his sword and concentrated on home.

  * * * *

  Michael woke in his father’s arms. “Neo?”

  “He’ll be back,” Spiro whispered in a soothing tone. “There’s still one vampire of LaMont’s original coven unaccounted for.”

  The earlier events slowly came back to Michael. He sat up and turned to face Spiro. “Did you know my blood would melt iron?”

  “No, but that doesn’t surprise me. Iron is the only thing that can truly hold a vampire. Because Neo ingests your blood, iron will no longer have that affect on him.”

  Michael rose from the bed and crossed the room. He entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. After drinking directly from the faucet, he closed the li
d on the toilet and sat down. Although he was glad Neo could no longer be held captive, Michael began to question their relationship. Does he really love me?

  More and more Michael was beginning to feel like nothing more than a vessel, created to give Neo back all that had been taken from him. Is that my only purpose in Neo’s life? Michael wanted to mean more to Neo than what was contained within his veins.

  He wasn’t sure how long he pondered the question before giving up. In the end, he was no closer to coming up with an answer than he’d been to begin with. Staring down at his healing wrist, he rose and approached the sink once more. As the warm water ran over the angry red skin, he studied himself in the mirror. The reflexion looking back at him shocked Michael. Gone was the twenty-five year old face he’d become accustomed to. Michael turned off the water and reached up to run his fingers over the lines around his eyes. He was aging, rapidly.

  With water still dripping from his hands, Michael walked back into the bedroom. “What’s happening to me? I look as though I’ve aged ten years.”

  Spiro, who had turned his attention to Sema, refused to look at Michael. “You’ve been through a horrific ordeal. You need sleep and food.”

  Michael could tell by Spiro’s body language that he wasn’t telling the truth. “Father?”

  Eventually Spiro glanced up from Sema’s thick, black coat to meet Michael’s gaze. “I can’t tell you more. I’m sorry.” Spiro’s eyes filled with tears. “I will tell you that Neo has some hard choices ahead of him. I pray that he truly has changed since you came here to live.”

  Chapter Nine

  By the time Neo returned to the chalet, the fight was over. LaMont’s headless coven littered the floor in every direction while the guards from the Realm and Clan of Kildare stood at attention, awaiting their new orders.

  The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he studied the room. Something wasn’t right. Turning towards the alcove where he’d left Audric, Neo’s chest tightened. He raced across the room, stepping over bodies on his way to the empty alcove. Other than a small pool of blood on the floor and several drops leading away from the alcove, there were no signs of Audric or Kern.