Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger

by Theresa Hissong

  A caught a glimpse of Adam slinking back into the shadows of the forest. I tried to reach out to him with my mind, but I was too weak. Our eyes met for an instant and he smiled.

  Don’t worry, Charity. I’ll be back, he promised.

  The fight raged on out by the forest, and I was still stuck through the table like last night’s dinner. I struggled to free myself and gasped from the pain. With one hand on the deck floor and the other on a nearby chair, I tried to raise myself up to slide one of the metal rods out of my leg. I couldn’t get enough leverage to release myself. Instead, I planted both hands behind me, like I was about to attempt a back flip. My arms burned from the exertion I used to slide my chest off of the metal rod.

  My strength gave out too soon and I screamed when my body slid further down on the table legs. I risked a glance toward the woods. Dragus had just dispatched a werewolf and our eyes met. He stepped forward to come to my aid, but was stopped by a werewolf lunging for his neck. I gasped just as he side stepped and the Lycan rolled over to his left.

  Dragus unsheathed his knife and lunged for the hound. The werewolf yelped as Dragus stabbed him in the chest. It was not a direct hit. Powle came from behind and drew his own knife across the Lycan’s throat, causing more black blood to spout from the wound.

  The pain flared in my leg and chest. I tried again to pull myself free of the table, but my strength had diminished. I was frustrated and weak. All I could do is to wait for Dragus to come to me. Until then I could only wait and assess the damage to my body.

  My femur was shattered. I knew this because I could feel the bone splinters trying to regenerate themselves back into place, but could not find purchase around the metal pole in my leg. A few ribs were broken and my lung was punctured. I could hear the rasping in my lungs as my breath whooshed in and out; like the gurgle of a drowning man. My strength was fading and so was my sight.

  Another round of pain shot through my body and I screamed. The tears flowed down my face like a waterfall; I had no idea that I was crying that hard. The pain in my body distracted me from any other body function I was having at the moment. I tried to look toward the forest to see if the Krieger were winning or not. My vision was blurry; either from the tears or the impending death I felt was coming. The last thing I remember was another round of pain; the last thing I heard was my ear shattering screams.

  Chapter 6

  Dragus

  I was torn between helping my brothers and rescuing Charity. Looking over at the porch, I made eye contact with her. Charity’s eyes were filled with bloody tears and pain. There was a trail of blood coming from her mouth, indicating some internal injuries. My heart ached knowing she would have to wait to be rescued. Thankfully, she was a vampire and her injuries wouldn’t kill her, but she would be in massive pain.

  “Dragus!” Krieger Palo yelled from my right. “Duck!” I complied immediately. I actually felt the breeze of the dagger that flew over my head. It struck a werewolf directly in the chest, dropping him only feet from me.

  “Gracias, Palo,” I sighed heavily.

  “Go to her, Dragus. We have it covered,” he demanded.

  The moment I turned toward her, Charity’s eyes glazed over and then rolled back into her head. I was next to her in seconds. The table leg was buried in her thigh and the other one was protruding at an odd angle through her chest.

  How was I going to get her free? I could slide her leg back through the metal rod, but the one in her chest was bent and would not come free.

  Taking a deep breath, I used my strength to straighten the rod through her chest as best I could. Then with one quick snap, I broke it off about an inch away from her chest. The other rod through her thigh broke away with ease.

  All I had to do was to get a good grip on her and lift her free, then I would have to get her to the emergency room at the hospital. I mentally counted to three and lifted. She gasped and screamed as the table released from her body.

  My feet carried me to the awaiting Hummer. Ashby was in the driver’s seat. I was in the back seat with Charity perched across my lap. I immediately released my fangs and tore into my own wrist, holding it up to her precious lips.

  “Please, mi amado,” I begged. “Drink, baby, drink,” I urged her while carefully putting my wrist inside her lips. They had turned white and her skin was starting to shrivel. Like the life was being sucked out of her. She had lost a lot of blood.

  My heart leapt when I felt the faint brush of her tongue against the blood I was trying to force into her mouth. “That’s my girl,” I said.

  “How’s she doing, brother,” Ashby asked from the front seat.

  “I don’t know,” I whispered.

  We drove for what seemed like hours but were probably only minutes. A few blocks from the hospital, Charity began to stir. And then she started to scream. Her eyes were glassed over and the holes in her body began to bleed more. The seat was covered in blood. It dripped off the seats and onto the carpeted floor.

  I was out of the vehicle before it even stopped at the emergency entrance.

  Her blood curling screams echoed through the corridors as we rushed into the lobby of the hospital. Our eyes met momentarily before she blacked out again. There was no sign of life inside her eyes; they were glazed over as if she were blind. I wanted to scream, because there was nothing I could do for her.

  Nurses and doctors burst out of the double doors looking for the cause of the ruckus. I stood there in tears, holding her while her blood rolled down my forearms and dripped onto the linoleum floors.

  I was pushed through the doors and found a gurney awaiting me. The nurse grabbed my arm and tried to guide me to another room. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Charity laying there limp on the table. She shouldn’t die from her wounds and for that I was thankful, but her recovery would be long and painful.

  A soft cold hand tugged on the sleeve of my shirt and I turned to see a petite nurse standing there trying to check me out. “Master Dragus,” she paused. “Are you hurt?”

  “No ma’am, this is her blood. Go…I’m fine. You just worry about getting Ms. Harwood patched up.” I gave her a gentle push toward the door.

  The doctor working over her was an old friend of mine. Dr. Combs had patched me up more times than I could count over the years. I had no worry about his ability to take care of Charity. I moved up closer to the opening of the curtain to watch them work over her.

  Someone had cut away her clothes and she was laying on the hospital gurney completely unclothed. Part of me wanted to protest and ask that all of the men be removed from her presence, but I knew this was their job. I bit my lip in frustration.

  Dr. Combs stepped back from the commotion and removed his gloves. He tossed them in the receptacle beside the curtain, and walked toward me. The look on his face did not give me a good feeling about what he was here to say.

  “Master Dragus,” he sighed. “She is stable, but has lost a lot of blood. Her injuries are severe and may take days to heal. We will need to give her some transfusions, but I don’t know how much it will take before she wakes up. I would like to keep her sedated for a few days to allow the bones to heal.”

  “I will call her maker. Ms. Lydia and I will give her the transfusions. She needs something stronger than human blood. Right?” I asked hoping I was right.

  “Yes, Master. Your blood and her makers will speed the healing process along just fine, but I still want her sedated for a while. When she does wake up, she will be in pain. Then I will prescribe a lower amount of Morphine to help.” The doctor patted my shoulder on his way out to the nurse’s station where he signed the orders for Charity’s care.

  A nurse came up from behind and tapped on my shoulder. “Master Dragus?”

  “Yes,” I turned to see the same nurse as before handing me a sheet of paper detailing the information on Charity. “Please look over her information and make sure it is right. We will be moving her up to room 1408 in a few minutes. Dr. Combs told me you would be
giving her the transfusion?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I sighed. “I need to call her maker and have her meet me here. I will be in the room in a few minutes.” The nurse simply nodded and we walked back into the room with Charity.

  The covers had been pulled up over her naked body and the bloody clothes had been removed. I placed my hand on top of hers and squeezed gently.

  I dialed the office and found that Bastian was already there waiting on my call.

  “How is she?” His voice sounded strained and then he paused as he waited for me to answer.

  “She’s stable for now. I need you to text me the number to Lydia Duncan immediately. I don’t think I will be back in tonight. Call me with any updates.” My voice cracked as I tried to remain calm, but that just wasn’t happening.

  “Yes sir, Dragus. I’m sending the number now.” I thanked him and flipped my cell closed. Instantly I heard the chime, notifying me of an incoming text. I copied the number and pressed send.

  Lydia answered on the second ring, “Hello?”

  “Ms. Duncan. This is Krieger Dragus.”

  “Oh! What can I do for you sir?” she sounded confused.

  “It’s Charity. She’s been hurt. I need you to come over to Port Royal Regional. She’s going to need blood,” I said.

  “Oh! Charity! What…Why…What happened?” she stuttered. I heard the panic and tried to calm her down.

  “She’s stable. I will explain everything when you get here. I can have a Krieger come and pick you up if you need someone to drive you.”

  “No, no. I can drive. Give me a few minutes,” she cried.

  I sat there for a while, holding Charity’s hand. I felt the presence of another of my kind and I turned to see Lydia coming into the room. Her eyes were already slightly bloody with tears and her face was masked with frustration. She reached over and grabbed my arm.

  “How is she?” Lydia growled at me like a mother cat protecting her young.

  “She’s about to be moved to a room,” I sighed. “She was attacked by a Lycan tonight and was thrown into the table on the back porch. It impaled two of the legs into her body, one nearly missing her heart.”

  “Did it bite her?” Lydia looked at me pleading for her friend. I patted her arm and shook my head. She started to collapse but I steadied her before she fell.

  “Come, we need to be there when they get her into the room. She’s going to need a transfusion. They are going to keep her sedated for a few days. I don’t know if she will be able to take our blood or if we are going to have to have it drawn.” I pointed toward the elevators and followed Lydia down the hall.

  On the way up to the room, I explain everything that happened tonight. From Adam controlling Charity’s body to the overgrown Lycanthrope that slammed into her, throwing her onto the porch. Lydia was not very happy with Adam Castillo at the moment, and neither was I.

  “That sorry son of a bitch hybrid,” she snarled. “He was using her. Wasn’t he?”

  “I honestly do not know. He acted like she was the only one who could help him. He actually thinks there is a cure, but he may be too far gone for anything to help him.” I watched as the elevator noted that we had arrived at the fourth floor. Lydia and I stepped out and followed the signs to room 1408.

  Charity had already been brought up from the emergency room through the back elevators. Nurses were busy setting her up on a Morphine drip. Lydia and I waited patiently in the corner as they worked over Charity’s limp body.

  I watched carefully as her chest would rise and fall with each breath. I counted each one and was grateful she was able to breathe the normal 8 times a minute, but the sound horrified me. I could hear the blood gurgling in her lungs as she struggled to breathe. A nurse placed an oxygen mask over her face and turned the dial on the wall. The sound of air rushing out of the tubes made a small hissing sound.

  Lydia stood beside me and cried quietly to herself. I placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at me, trying to smile.

  The nurse cleared her throat to get out attention, “Are you Ms. Harwood’s maker?” Lydia stepped forward and nodded.

  “We need to see if she is coherent enough to accept your blood. Could you try for us?” The nurse stepped away as Lydia moved around the chair sitting beside the bed.

  Lydia unrolled her sleeve and used her fangs to bite into the vein on her wrist. The nurse removed the mask and stepped aside. My eyes bulged as Lydia climbed in the bed with Charity, like a mother with a child, and placed her wrist to Charity’s lips. Lydia whispered to her encouraging her to feed.

  “Char, please baby. Take my blood. Hurry up before it closes honey.” Lydia’s eyes widened when Charity’s mouth opened and wrapped weakly around her wrist. The sound of Charity feeding was weak and light as a whisper when she swallowed.

  The nurse smiled, “This is a very good sign.”

  I stepped over to the end of the bed. “It doesn’t sound like she’s taking enough,” I turned toward the nurse looking for answers. Lydia nodded echoing my concern.

  “Anything she can get down is good. The Morphine is making her body more relaxed so she won’t feed as she would if she was awake. Dr. Combs wants her sedated because if she was wake up, the pain would be so intense she wouldn’t be able to feed at all.” The nurse turned to Lydia and watched as she pulled away from Charity. “Oh dear, she’s a mess. Let me get a wash cloth.”

  Charity’s chin was covered in blood. What little blood she took from Lydia seemed to have drained out of her mouth.

  “Master Dragus,” the nurse turned toward me after she had wiped Charity’s chin. “Do you want to try?”

  “Of course,” I whispered. After removing my coat, I sat down on the edge of the bed, trying my best not to jostle her. The nurse handed me a clean wash cloth and I used my own fangs to break open the vein. I immediately pressed it to her lips.

  Charity opened her mouth just enough to allow the blood to trickle inside. We laughed when she let out a slight moan and tried to latch onto my wrist. She was extremely weak and didn’t make a good connection, but at least she was swallowing a little better. I used my other hand to brush away the hair from her face. When I would touch her, her pulls on my wrist would increase, but only slightly.

  “She likes your touch,” the nurse whispered. “Keep doing whatever you’re doing.”

  I nodded and continued to brush my hand lightly over her forehead. She moaned softly a few more times before my wound closed. She didn’t make quite as much of a mess with me as she did Lydia, but I still used the cloth to wipe away the blood from her chin.

  The nurse stepped out leaving us alone with Charity. I leaned forward and placed my elbows on my knees, then rested my chin on my hands.

  Lydia pulled over a stool and sat down beside me. “Have they found Adam yet?”

  “I have no idea. Krieger Ashby is in charge and I haven’t heard from him yet,” I sighed. “I’m sorry Lydia. I tried to protect her and I failed.”

  Lydia leaned over and wrapped her small arm around my shoulder and sighed, “Charity is rather hard headed and does what she wants to do. It could have been much worse. You did very well with her. So, don’t beat yourself up over this.” She pointed to Charity laying there comatose.

  I laughed lightly, “She is strong willed. Isn’t she?”

  “You have no idea,” she laughed. Lydia stood up and patted my arm again. “It’s getting late. I will be back as soon as I can after sunset. Please call me if you need anything.”

  “I will and thank you.” Lydia nodded and left out of the room leaving us alone.

  Charity was so peaceful in her sleep. Her pouty lips were relaxed and slightly parted. I touched her cheek with the back of my hand and she turned her head slightly then flinched.

  I immediately pressed the button for the nurse.

  “Nurse’s station,” the voice whispered.

  “She’s in pain. Get someone in here now!” I demanded. If they didn’t come in here right this se
cond I would go ballistic. The fear of her being uncomfortable sent a sharp, tingling pain up my spine.

  Luck was with them, a nurse entered the room in a rush, “What’s wrong?”

  “She flinched,” I growled. “I thought she was given Morphine.”

  “Here’s what we’re going to do,” she spoke calmly, after a long sigh. “I’m going to add something where you can administer an extra dose if she seems to be in pain. You can only do it once every fifteen to twenty minutes.”

  “That would be helpful,” I sighed. “I’m sorry for yelling. I just don’t want her in pain.”

  “Yes sir, Master Dragus. We understand.” She smiled politely and left the room.

  Another nurse entered the room with a little white cord with a red button attached to it. It reminded me of those buzzers you see on that show Jeopardy. They showed me how to use it and explained that they were on their way home and the human nurses would be taking over until sunset.

  I thanked them and returned to Charity’s side. Her face had relaxed with the extra dose of medicine. The sun was just a few minutes from rising when I heard her take her last breath until sunset. This was typical with our daily death. I, being a Krieger could stay up longer, but by no means could I walk in the sun. With that thought, I slipped off my boots and laid down on the small couch by the far wall and let my death take me until night fall.

  I awoke about an hour before sunset and found two human nurses bathing Charity before she woke for the evening. They had small pink tubs filled with hot soapy water. One nurse was washing and the other was lifting her leg up. They both stiffened when I stood up from my makeshift bed.

  “Good evening, Master Dragus,” they greeted me in unison.

  “Evening,” I smiled. “Do you need my help?” I pointed to the bed where Charity lay still in her death.