Dirk The Savior - Book 3 of the Raven Series

by Rhiannon Neeley

  As soon as they had all assembled in the main entrance chamber, Connor would announce the group hunt. The full Clutch would hunt together tonight. Including Dirk and Casey. Connor burst into the main entrance chamber, full of energy even though he thirsted.

  The twins and their playmate were already there, albeit moving slowly, still not fully awake from their day's sleep. Mitchell, the playmate, approached Connor, his walk slightly stooped. “Want me to go get 'em?” he asked, looking up at Connor. “I'll go get 'em if you say so.”

  Connor waved the weakling off. “They will arrive soon enough.” Connor began to light some candles, waving his fingers through the golden flames as he did. Fire fascinated him. It was the color of the sun, if he remembered that particular color right, and even though it radiated tremendous heat, it could not burn him as the sun could. The sun could destroy him if he was left in the sunlight long enough. But the fire … it seemed so alive. Connor knew that the fire could consume him if the circumstances were right but he felt that he had control over its dancing flames. He didn't fear it. He idolized it in a way. It had the power to hypnotize him with its deadly dance.

  A voice snapped Connor out of his trance.

  “I see all of the monsters have gathered,” Dirk said, entering the chamber.

  Connor turned to face him. Dirk stood in the entrance to one of the tunnels, one arm nonchalantly draped around Casey's shoulders. Connor smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sleeping late, are we?”

  Dirk shrugged. He glanced down at Casey, looked back at Connor. Then he winked. “Got a little busy, too busy to sleep.”

  “I see.” Connor straightened and clapped his hands together. “You are all in for a treat this night.”

  “What? What 'cha got planned?” Bobby Sue asked, her eyes alight like a child on Christmas morning. “Is it something new?”

  A deadly smile broke across Connor's face. “Oh yes. This is something new. Something I think you all are going to like. But first, we need to prepare.”

  Dirk's mind whirred with thought. What could Connor have in mind? Something was up. Something that could not be good. Dirk kept his arm draped across Casey's shoulders, drawing warmth from her. He kept his face expressionless, waiting for Connor to explain what he had planned for the evening's activities. His stomach quivered inside, hunger of a different sort than he was used to beginning to worry him. How long would it be before he was forced to take blood to quell this growing hunger? He had to get to his car. He had to contact the Unkindness. Dirk was intelligent enough to know that this time, he needed backup.

  “The first thing we need to do,” Connor began, “is to protect ourselves from those insects that bite.”

  “Those chiggers,” Bonnie Lou said with a sneer. “Them things bite enough to suck all the blood I take in of a night.”

  “Only thing I know'll keep 'em off'n you is coal oil,” Bobby Sue said.

  Connor nodded. “There are some containers of coal oil in one of the chambers. Mitchell, go get them.”

  Mitchell began to whine. “Why does I always haf'ta go fetch? Cain't one of them go get it?”

  In the blink of an eye, Connor had Mitchell by the scruff of the neck. “You dare to question me, you little piece of crap?”

  Dirk watched with interest as Mitchell seemed to shrink before Connor's rage.

  Connor gave the boy a shake. “Now move.” Connor released him with a shove that sent him half way across the room.

  Casey clutched at Dirk's shirt, fingers grabbing for purchase. “He's going to kill him one of these days,” she whispered.

  Dirk hugged her closer. “Shh. If he did, it would be the right thing to do.”

  Casey looked up at him with a level gaze. Dirk caught the struggle in her eyes though. She was trying to figure out if he had a malevolent nature. Saying that the death of Mitchell would be a good thing didn't show compassion. But Dirk felt no compassion for any of these monsters. Especially Connor Fagan.

  Mitchell stumbled from the room, disappearing into the dark to fetch his Master's items. Connor flipped his hair back over his shoulder and settled himself. “When the little piss ant returns, I want all of you to coat yourselves with the coal oil. Then we shall hunt.”

  Bobby Sue's eyes lit up with an unearthly glow. “Together?”

  “Yes.” Connor focused on Dirk. “All of us. Together.”

  * * * *

  After Mitchell returned and they all had coated their exposed skin with coal oil, Connor clapped his hands again. “Let's go, my lovely pack of bloodsuckers. We shall hunt as one this night.”

  Casey shivered, the smell of the coal oil burning her nose. She looked at Dirk. He jerked his head in the direction of the entrance. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand.

  Casey followed him through the entrance and out into the fresh air. She was filled with excitement and loathing. Excited and nervous, seeing this outing as a possible chance for escape, Casey tried to understand why Dirk had agreed to the hunt. The hunting party moved through the brush, barely making a sound except for her. She felt like an ogre compared to the silent grace of a stalking vampire. If Dirk kills something and drinks, I don't think I'll be able to stand it, she thought as she struggled to keep up without crashing through the brush like a charging she-bear.

  I am not as they are, Dirk's voice cooed in her mind. Don't ever think that I am. I will get us out of this.

  Casey shook her head and sought his eyes in the moonlight. Their gaze locked for a second, then Dirk turned from her, following the others.

  Casey bit her lip and willed herself to believe him.

  The ground was rocky, the overgrown brush snagging the legs of her jeans. She knew the others were moving, ahead and to the side of them. She couldn't hear them but once in a while she caught a glimpse of a swift movement, sometimes only out of the corner of her eye. But not only that … she could sense them. Her senses were improving, sharpening. It scared her. Knowing this enhancement was only due to the vampire bites she had received made her wonder if she was going to get out of this mess with her humanity intact. As the group moved, they began to converge on something.

  Dirk released her hand, moving away and down the hillside a bit. Stay in sight, he whispered in her mind.

  Casey glanced at him, then searched the darkness for the others. They were moving in the dark not unlike a pack of hungry wolves. Casey cautiously moved forward, keeping her distance from them but not letting them out of her sight. Something was moving in front of the pack. Something large.

  Suddenly a deer emerged into a patch of moonlight in a small clearing, its delicate legs stepping hesitantly, ears twitching nervously. Casey froze and held her breath. She knew what would happen next. Bursting from the underbrush and from behind trees, Connor, Bonnie Lou and Bobby Sue attacked. The deer only had time to lift a slender leg as a prelude to flight before the monsters landed on it.

  Casey closed her eyes and knelt in the tall grass. It was bad enough that she had to listen to the feast, she didn't want to watch it. Crouching down into the pungent scented weeds, Casey sent out a plea in her thoughts. Dirk, where are you?

  * * * *

  Dirk hesitated for a mere second when Casey's words filtered through his mind. Here. I'm here, he answered, continuing to move in the direction of where he left his car. Stay where you are. I'll return soon, he continued. Casey had to stay where she was. She didn't dare try to run off. That was exactly what Connor wanted. A reason to attack.

  Dirk stepped gingerly over a fallen log. Almost stumbling, he put his hand down to catch himself and was impaled on a thorn. A sharp intake of breath was his only reaction as he disengaged himself from the needle-like thorn. Immobile, with one foot on each side of the log, Dirk inspected his hand. A drop of blood in the palm of his hand glistened in the moonlight like a wet ruby. Dirk's vision blurred for a moment. He let his head drop, feeling the rush of his own blood through his veins.

  “Hah,” a voice said. “Thought you'd try
to run off.”

  Dirk looked up.

  Mitchell stood about three feet away in a cold, silver patch of moonlight. Thin and pale, huge blue eyes in an over-sized head, Mitchell reminded Dirk of the Golem from The Lord of the Rings. He could see why the twins referred to Mitchell as a 'playmate.' Mitchell was really no more than a toy to them. Although they used him to satisfy their decadent cravings for strange sex, the twins didn't think of Mitchell as a man. And he wasn't. To Dirk, Mitchell looked like he had barely reached sixteen when he was turned. Dirk would bet that Mitchell, with the raging hormones of a teenager, had been an easy mark for the voluptuous red heads.

  “What do you want?” Dirk asked, swinging his leg over the log. He stood to his full height.

  Mitchell grinned, showing fangs and corroded teeth. “Just thought I'd run with you, that's all.”

  Dirk caught his eyes with his stare. “You better go back to the twins. They'll be missing you.”

  Mitchell barked a laugh. “They don't have much use for me when they're feedin'.”

  Dirk took two steps, closing the space between them. He looked down into the empty blue eyes of the boy. “Go. Now.”

  Mitchell stumbled back, tripping over a vine. “You cain't tell me what ta do.”

  “Yes. I can.” Dirk felt anger surge. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and shoved Mitchell, knocking him to the ground.

  “I—I'm gonna tell Fagan,” Mitchell sputtered.

  Dirk snorted and turned away. “You go right ahead and tell Daddy,” he spat. Dirk started to walk away.

  “Fagan's not gonna like you shovin' me around,” Mitchell called out.

  Dirk didn't flinch. He kept on going. If Mitchell followed, Dirk would kill him. Which he was going to do in the end anyway.

  Before Dirk had taken three steps, Mitchell landed on his back with a thud. Dirk felt his knees buckle with the impact. Falling, he put his hands out to catch himself. Sheer luck allowed him to grasp a two-inch thick branch that lay on the ground. When the two hit the ground, Dirk immediately rolled, putting Mitchell under him.

  Dirk's rage was a fire, his vision clouded with red-hot anger. Roaring, Dirk shifted and brought the stick up. With one solid movement, Dirk staked Mitchell mid-chest, putting all of the power he had behind it.

  Mitchell squealed, hands clutching like claws at the stick, trying to pull it from his chest.

  The scent of blood flowed up from the wound in Mitchell's chest, sending crackling sensations through Dirk. He hungered. Thirsted. His world was a red haze. His teeth itched. Ached. Dirk reared back, putting distance between himself and the fount of blood spewing from Mitchell's pierced chest. Shaking, Dirk stood. Mitchell writhed on the ground, the fight slowly ebbing out of him. The vampire was dying.

  Dirk stumbled. Suddenly he doubled over, the hunger biting at his insides. He had to get away. Get away before he drank from the soon to be dead undead.

  * * * *

  Casey gasped. It wasn't the sound of hungry mouths ripping, tearing and lapping the blood of the deer that shook her. It was the urgent need that washed over her. A need that she had to acknowledge. Dirk's need for her. Shoving up off of the ground, Casey let her connection to Dirk lead her. He was in trouble. He was fighting a battle of will with himself. Visions of blood, rocks and fallen trees flew through her mind as she moved over the hillside but all of the visions were cast in a red haze. Dirk needed to feed. And he was fighting it.

  Casey began to move faster. She had to get to him. He may or may not be a vampire but if he wasn't, he was on his way to turning into one. Casey was desperate to help him fight the demon.

  * * * *

  Dirk gave Mitchell's body a wide berth and began in earnest to head for his car. It wasn't that far. If he could stave off this demonic hunger and call for reinforcements, he could deal with it.

  Moving quickly, Dirk focused his mind on reaching the car. Minutes later, he ripped open the car door and grabbed his bag from the seat. Digging into the contents of the bag, he found his cell and dialed.

  It only rang once before John picked up.

  “Dirk, finally,” John said.

  “It was my first chance to call,” Dirk said, leaning against the fender of his car.

  “Have you found the woman?”

  “Yes. And I've found Connor Fagan.”

  “I heard. I've sent reinforcements. They should be there soon.”

  Thank God John knows what he's doing, Dirk thought. He pushed off the car, locked it up and started off in the direction he came. He couldn't afford to be gone long. He didn't want to make Fagan suspicious. “I need other help also,” Dirk said, threading his way back toward the Clutch of vampires.

  “You been bitten?” John asked.

  “Something like that.”

  Dirk heard John sigh over the phone. “We'll have to take care of that … after. What about the woman?”

  Dirk shook his head. “Not yet. She's only been bitten twice. She's got a chance.”

  “Well, get it over with as soon as possible.”

  “I will.”

  “Wish I could be there,” John said, his tone serious. “Just to see him destroyed.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Take care.”

  “Later.” Dirk clicked the phone closed and shoved it back in his bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and picked up the pace.

  * * * *

  Casey struggled through the dark. She knew the general direction where Dirk was thanks to her mind connection with him. She sensed that he was troubled. She needed to be there for him. Even with all of the conflict Casey was dealing with—vampires and the threat of becoming one—she had never felt as strong a connection to anyone as she felt for Dirk. If this wasn't love, she didn't know what was. Strange as it was, Casey wanted to spend her life with Dirk. But there was still a fear there—a fear that Dirk was a vampire, no matter how many times he assured her that he wasn't. There were too many circumstances, too many hints, that he was a monster. Just like Connor Fagan.

  I'll just have to deal with it, she thought, stepping over a fallen log. If Dirk is a vampire, maybe I'll just have to become one too.

  Casey stumbled, her foot catching in a vine. Not able to stop herself from falling, she landed on something that was not the ground. Something that felt like … a body.

  Pushing herself up, Casey couldn't stop herself from screaming, the sound echoing over the mountainside. What she had fallen on was the body of Mitchell.

  Hands grabbed her from behind, jerking her off of the decrepit corpse.

  “Quiet,” Dirk said, spinning her around and enclosing her in his arms. “Don't scream.”

  Casey gulped for breath, burying her face in his chest. His arms held her tight. After a moment, she managed to stop her shaking. “Let's … let's make a run for it,” she said, looking up at him. “We can get away…”

  Dirk's eyes flashed in the darkness, a spark of red in their cool blue. “No. We're not running. We have to stay here. With them.”

  Casey frowned. Why did he want to stay? This was the chance they were looking for. An opportunity to escape.

  Dirk shook his head. “We are not going to escape. We are going to stay with the Clutch.” He released her from his embrace and took her by the hand. “Come on. We have to get back before they come looking.”

  Confusion filled Casey but she followed as Dirk led her back toward the place where the rest of the vampires were feeding. “I don't understand,” she said.

  “You will. Soon enough.” Dirk squeezed her hand and continued to lead her back into danger.

  I must really love this man, she thought. If I didn't, I'd be tempted to kill him.

  Chapter Seven

  John hung up the phone, took a deep breath then slammed his fist down on the desk.

  “What in the world is wrong with you?” Madison asked, coming into the room. Her stomach stretched the fabric of her nightgown tight over her tummy.

  Just t
he sight of his very pregnant wife calmed him and agitated him at the same time. Madison was his life, his love. But the thought of Connor Fagan still breathing the air of the Earth vexed him. Especially with a child ready to be born into the same existence as that monster. His own child. And here he was, tied to the Unkindness when he wanted to be with Dirk. When he wanted to destroy the vampire that had almost destroyed their family. John closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke.

  “John?”

  Opening his eyes, he smiled. “It's nothing. Don't worry about it,” he said, rising from the chair behind the desk. He crossed the room and drew her into his arms. “You have much more important things to worry about than my anger at certain phone calls.”

  “Was it Dirk? Is he alright?”

  John lowered his face to take in the fresh scent of Madison's cinnamon hair. “Yes. He's okay. For now.”

  “Maybe you should go,” she said, wriggling out of his arms. She wrapped her own arms around her ample belly. “You should be there with him.”

  John shook his head. “I need to be here with you. Dirk will … he'll be fine.”

  Madison cocked her head. “You don't sound all that sure.”

  John's lips formed a thin line. He hoped that Drake and Holt were almost there, with Dirk. Because he wasn't that sure that Dirk was going to make it through this fight.

  Not sure at all.

  * * * *

  Connor Fagan wiped a hand across his mouth and flicked the remnants of blood from the tips of his fingers. He had not fed from the animal but had waited until the twins had drunk their fill, and had taken his sustenance from both girls, drinking only what he needed. Though they were twins, each girl had her own flavor. Tonight there had been the added overtone of wild game to their blood. It made Connor's meal more … interesting.

  Since he had fed on the twins, they were now taking their time as they finished draining the deer of its lifeblood. Connor leaned against a tree, watching. But he wasn't listening. He was waiting.

  Connor knew that Dirk had dispatched the weakling, Mitchell. He had felt it as soon as the spear of wood had entered Mitchell's chest. Connor had a connection with each child he created. It didn't bother Connor in the least that the weakling had been destroyed. Mitchell was no more bother than a pesky fly buzzing. But the twins would not be happy when they found out. Connor couldn't wait to witness that confrontation.