He picked her body up from the cold concrete floor and lifted her to his eager mouth. As his fangs descended and he ripped a mouthful of tender flesh from her throat, he barely chewed the soft muscle tissue before swallowing. He tore off a second bite and relished the fullness that the flesh gave him as it hit his stomach. His hand slid down her front and ripped the short sweater from her torso revealing her small, pert breasts. He devoured her with his eyes before his mouth lowered to the closest one and he sank his teeth into the tender flesh, ripping it from her chest. He chewed the flesh slowly, rolling the nipple of her breast around in his mouth a moment just for the sheer joy of it before chewing it and swallowing it down and rending the other breast from her body.
Damien sat alone in the dark enjoying his meal of the larger muscle groups, the buttocks, the shoulders, the tender strips of muscle that run along the length of the back. He was just about to start on the inner muscle of her thighs when he heard a noise coming down the stairs. At first he wanted to panic…the thought of being caught eating the flesh of a human again. Foster’s words echoed in his mind again and he did not wish to see the true death. Especially for something as simple as satiating his appetites.
He glanced around the room and saw that the largest pile of body parts was right near the entrance. He dragged the remains of his meal with him and settled himself in with the other bodies and pulled the girl’s remains in on top of himself, hoping to hide from whoever was coming down the steps. Damien shifted the girl’s head to one side so that he could see out of the pile and waited for the intruder.
As the vampire entered the room, Damien couldn’t see who it was; he could feel his presence, though. He was an older vampire, at least a century in age. The power that came off of him was unmistakable. Damien feared it was one of the guards, probably one of Foster’s personal guards if he had to guess.
He watched as the vampire entered the room carrying two human corpses. The vampire paused and dropped both bodies to the floor. He ripped the head off the first body and threw it across the room, then tossed the body in a pile on the opposite side of the room. He then bent and retrieved the other body and pulled the head from it. He slung the head across the room by the hair then froze in mid action. He turned his head one way then the other, sniffing the air both times. Damien watched as the vampire strained his neck to listen. He turned first one way, then the other. Damien feared that he sensed his presence and forced every fiber of his being to remain still.
The older vampire stood for a very long time. He listened to every sound to the point that the silence was deafening. Finally he turned and picked up the body and slammed it against the wall with the other corpse. The older vampire stood at the entrance to the room, his foot on the first step of the stairs. He didn’t look back into the room but he spoke quietly, “I don’t know who is in here, but I know that you are in here.” He waited another moment before he spoke again. “Whatever it is you’re doing, you may well wish to rethink it.”
Damien didn’t think, nor did he make a conscious thought to act, but his body slipped from the pile of bodies just as the older vampire began making his way back up the stairs to the main floor. Without conscious thought or effort, Damien, covered in the blood of the bodies he had hidden under attacked the older vampire from behind.
He didn’t attack with fists or feet, but with his fangs, going straight for the neck, ripping out his throat, his hands attaching to either side of the older vampire’s jaw and pulling for all he was worth. The older vampire, not suspecting the attack, was taken totally by surprise and pulled back down the stairs and into the darkness of the room where Damien continued his assault.
The older vampire tried to get his feet back under him and counter, but Damien was like a madman. He jumped back on the older vampire’s shoulders and grabbed for his head again, pulling for all he was worth. The older vampire grabbed him and pulled him forward to face him, but Damien hooked an arm up and under his shoulder that allowed him to flip back and up on the other shoulder to sink his fangs into the vampire’s throat from the other side. With no way to call out for help and with his black blood gurgling forth, the older vampire was weakening quickly.
He lunged for Damien, who sidestepped him and got a shot to his knee, crumbling the vampire to the concrete floor. Damien jumped on his chest and sunk his hand deep into the older vampire’s chest, grasping for his heart. When he found the withered muscle, he grasped it firmly and ripped it from his chest, bringing it instantly to his mouth. The older vampire lay on the floor, his eyes wide with shock as he watched Damien devour his heart in front of him moments before the true death came to him.
As Damien chewed the withered heart and swallowed it, he felt this sickening feeling come over him. He suddenly felt much stronger. It was if he had stolen the other vampire’s power when he ate his heart…as if he had stolen his years when he swallowed the flesh. The sick feeling soon passed and Damien felt a rush of energy. He felt rejuvenated in a way that blood and flesh had never made him feel before.
He stood up straighter and squared his shoulders. Glancing at the doorway that led to the stairs, Damien knew that up that flight of stairs were countless other vampires, their accumulated years went beyond centuries…into MILLENIA!
Slowly a smile started to curl the corners of his mouth as he realized where the true power lies. He knew he had work to do and little time to do it. He looked down at the remains of the older vampire and ripped a chunk of muscle from his thigh before kicking the remains over into the pile of human corpses. Damien sat in the darkness and ate while he went about hatching his plans.
*****
Maria dropped her practice sword and glared at Hank who was dripping with sweat and breathing hard. “You’re going easy on me. Don’t do me any favors.” She ground her teeth.
Hank stared at her hard for a moment and lowered his sword. “I’m not going easy on you.”
“Yes you are!” She renewed her defensive stance.
Hank shook his head again and approached her but she braced herself again, preparing for an attack. “Wait.” He held a hand up to hold her. “Maria, I’m not going easy on you.”
“You were harder on me last night in the motor pool,” she said with anger in her voice.
Hank blanched at the thought that she might have been overheard. “Maria, what has come over you?” He quickly filled the gap between them and whispered at her, “Where is this anger from? I’ve told you to center yourself. Not to fight in anger.”
“You wouldn’t understand.” She pulled her arm away from him and turned her back to him.
“Then tell me.” He placed a hand on her shoulder gently so as not to get another brush off. “Open your heart to me.”
She turned on him and her eyes held not anger, but sadness. “I have opened my heart to you.” Her eyes threatened to water over. “But there are some memories that I’m not ready to rehash.”
Hank studied her a moment before simply nodding. “Very well.” He cupped her face. “But know that I’ve never held back when we spar. You’ve simply grown too skilled as a swordsman for my tutelage.” He cracked a wry grin.
Maria shook her head. “I’ve seen you fight,” she whispered. “You were like a madman on that hilltop. Nothing could stand in your way and I could barely see your blades flashing in the moonlight.” Her words dripped with awe. She turned wide eyes to him and all but whispered, “I want to fight like that.”
Hank heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Then let something threaten somebody you love more than life itself and you’ll see yourself fight like that.”
She stared at him dumbstruck. It took her a moment to form the question that hung on her tongue. “You loved me even then?”
Hank hung his head and didn’t dare look into her eyes. “Maria, I’ve loved you from the moment I set eyes on you. I had never believed in love at first sight, until I saw you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Her voice cracked in her throat.
She snorted and shook her head. It was her turn to avoid his gaze. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“I know. He’s become a very good friend to me as well.”
“He was there when I needed a physical urge met.” She finally met his eyes. “That’s all.”
“I know.” He pulled her to him and felt her melt into his arms. “I don’t want to hurt him either, but I also know that I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“You won’t. I don’t love him. I don’t think I ever truly felt anything for him.”
They stood there for a moment and lingered in the sweaty heat of each other’s presence. Hank finally pulled back and kissed her gently on the forehead. “Let’s not think of unpleasant thoughts right now.” He pushed her back and brought his sword to the ready position. “Let’s finish our workout. I need to try to improve my game.”
“You need to improve your game?” she teased. “Now who’s the teacher?”
“I think you are.”
As the two went back to their workout, wooden swords clacking against each other, neither noticed Dave Marshall had started to enter the back of the gym. He had paused at the door and heard their conversation. He quietly stood near the back and slipped back out when they returned to their practice, his thoughts heavy with the knowledge that Apollo was about to get his heart broken. Although he liked Apollo, and really didn’t care one way or the other if he and Sanchez were bumping uglies, he wondered if it made him a bad person that his biggest fear was how this would bode for the team if it all blew up before the big war with the vamps. Would it tilt the odds against them? Marshall didn’t know one way or the other, but he hoped that Maria and the Padre had the good sense to keep their little tryst to themselves… at least until afterwards.
*****
Laura placed her bags into the back of the golf cart and waited while the crews offloaded the supplies from the plane. She intended to catch the flight back to OKC and take a taxi to Tinker, pick up the rest of her belongings and maybe go home for a while, perhaps visit her family for a bit before deciding what to do with her life.
She hesitated as she glanced back at the bunker, knowing that Evan worked diligently deep below in the bowels of the facility in his laboratory. She sighed heavily and pushed away from the wall she had been leaning on and strode purposefully toward the bunker. She had told herself that she could simply leave and maybe call him later to explain that she was never good with good-byes. That was why she couldn’t see him off when he was ordered to be imprisoned. It was why she couldn’t visit him. She couldn’t deal with the separation, the pain of seeing someone she cared about and not touch them, hold them, feel them wrap their arms around her.
She found herself standing in the doorway to his lab, her sunglasses in her hand and her voice caught in her throat, unable to say anything, a look of uncertainty across her features. Rufus looked up from the project he was working on and excused himself from the lab, muttering something about a cake in the oven. He had the foresight and knowledge of the heart to know that there were certain times to make yourself scarce and this was definitely one of them.
Evan crossed the lab, concern creeping into his heart, worry entering his mind, fear that someone had been hurt or worse, killed. “What has happened?”
Laura stared at him a moment, her face a blank canvas. Slowly her lip began to quiver and she melted into his arms. “I can’t…” She buried her face into his chest.
“You can’t what?” He rubbed her back soothingly.
“I can’t just leave without saying good-bye,” she replied softly. “I love you too much.”
Evan visibly stiffened with her in his arms. “You’re leaving?”
“I have to, Evan,” she cried, her voice cracking. “I can’t take it anymore.” She buried her face in his shirt and clung to him.
He slowly wrapped his arms around her and rocked her, unsure what to say. She continued to release her pent up emotions and he continued to hold her, rubbing her back. When she got herself under control again, she pulled back and he wiped at her face with the sleeve of his lab coat. “I’m sorry.” She laughed nervously as she wiped the other side. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.”
“I hadn’t realized the pressure was this much on you…” he began.
She shook her head. “It’s not the pressure, Evan. It’s you!” she said, poking playfully at him. He pulled back from her in shock and she suddenly realized that he had misunderstood her. “No, sweetie, I meant I’m not crying because of the pressure, I’m crying because you are the ONLY thing I’m going to miss!” She watched as his features softened and realization sunk in to his eyes…followed by sadness. “But I have to go. Even if it’s just for a little while, I have to.”
Evan nodded his head and avoided her gaze. “I love you so much, Laura.”
“And I love you, Evan. More than I ever thought I could love anyone,” she whispered. “But if I don’t step back from…all of this, I’m going to lose my mind.”
“Have I been pressuring you in any way?”
“No, Evan, no…it’s the squads and the job and…” she trailed off. She lifted his chin to meet her reddened eyes. “It’s definitely not you.” She kissed him gently on the mouth. “I’d drag you with me if I could. But you are too vital to the success of the mission. I couldn’t do that to Matt. Or the squads. Or to you.” She noticed the surprise in his eyes. She smiled at him because she knew him better than he knew himself. “You need this job more than you know. You need to feel like you are part of the solution…and you ARE. They’d be lost without your genius behind the curtain.” She pulled him into a tight embrace.
“But what am I without you?”
“You’re still you.” She nuzzled him. “You’re the most special man I’ve ever known.”
“Then why are you leaving me? Is it because I wouldn’t bite you?” he asked. “Because I spoke with Rufus and I—”
She pulled back, her eyes wide. “You told him?” He saw the fear in her eyes.
Evan shook his head, puzzlement across his face. “What?” He didn’t understand her reaction. “I didn’t tell him anything. I simply asked the effects of a vampire’s bite on a human, either when feeding or during…well, heights of passion.”
She studied him, looking for cracks in his armor and he studied her back. “I don’t understand, Laura. Why would it matter if I had? Rufus is not one to—”
She shushed him by placing a finger over his mouth and giving him a bittersweet smile. “Evan, please.” The sadness in her eyes stopped him more than her motions. “Leave our private actions just between us.”
Evan stared into her eyes and simply nodded. She sunk back into his arms and sighed. He held her a moment longer. “When will you return?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. But I hope soon.” She closed her eyes and tried not to imagine a day to day life without him. “I’ll call you often though and keep you up on how I’m doing.”
He nodded and fought the urge to beg her to stay. Laura began trying to find reasons to stay in her mind, and fought the urge to offer to stay, just to assist him however she could. She swallowed the words before they could leave her mouth. She knew that she had to go. Her time with the squads was up, and she had to move on. She pulled away from his chest and kissed him again, her hands pulling him closer to her.
“I have to go,” she finally whispered.
Evan nodded again, his eyes growing misty. “Don’t forget to write.”
“Or text. Or call…or email.” She smiled at him as she backed toward the door of the lab.
“I miss you already,” he called softly as she stepped across the threshold.
“I don’t see how.” She felt a tear run down her cheek. “I’m taking you with me in my heart.”
*****
Rufus Thorn entered the abandoned warehouse with Viktor in tow. Although his face was stoic, his power ebbed
and flowed in great pulses that sent the vampires within quivering to their knees. The sun had barely begun to set as he made his way to the warehouse and it was only in the shade of the hillside that Rufus dared to exit the vehicle and enter the steel door of the underground tomb.
Vampire guards met him at the door and fell into step behind the duo as they marched to the rear of the giant warehouse. Rufus, a vampire on a mission, had little doubt the outcome of this meeting. Foster would heed or be crushed. There were no other alternatives.
As they approached Foster’s makeshift quarters, Paul stepped out of the room that he now claimed as a bedchamber. What once was intended to house the entire Congress of the United States in the event of a national emergency was being used as Paul Foster’s private chambers. At least this time he had taken the time to throw on a robe before presenting himself to his new master.
Rufus paused just outside the room and shot Foster a disapproving glare.
“Ah, brother,” Paul said with false affection, “you’ve come back to visit so soon?”
Rufus allowed a full wave of his power to wash out among the vampires in the warehouse and the mass of undead fell to a knee, Foster included.
“I have come seeking answers, brother,” Rufus responded quietly.
“To what?”
“To a rather disturbing question that was brought to my attention.” Rufus looked around at all of the vampires surrounding him and raised his voice. “It has been asked of me if you and yours are feeding on humans,” Rufus spoke loudly. “I reassured the humans at the base that this could not possibly be the case because we have entered into a blood alliance, have we not?”
Foster did not answer, but rather raised his widened eyes to his adopted brother in shock.
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