“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I know how to run these cameras,” she said.
Kallias spun toward the doors again, and his entire body stiffened. It was as if every muscle and nerve in his body had suddenly become alert and prepared for danger. Within less than a second, he had his hand wrapped around her arm and was dragging her toward the office, away from the doors. “Just try. Please.”
Rose scowled at his hand on her arm but allowed him to pull her toward the office anyway. “Even if I did know how to operate the cameras, I would need a key to the office and the password to her computer. I have neither.”
He stopped and jerked the office door open, the lock breaking with a loud click. “No key needed. Try Thomas for the password. It’s her son’s name.”
She threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine. I’ll try.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Don’t leave that room until I tell you it’s safe.”
She gave him a sarcastic salute. “Yes, sir. Any other orders for me, sir?”
Kallias rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. “Yeah. Shut up,” he chuckled.
14
Tearing Hearts Out, Literally
“Definitely not Thomas,” Rose sighed. She leaned back in the office chair, staring at the password box on the computer screen. She glanced around the office, looking for anything that might help her think of a possible password.
The office was as small as a closet, so narrow that she felt the wall brush against her back as she leaned back in the office chair. A long, wooden desk set against the wall, directly in front of her, cluttered with paper and pens. The computer set in the far corner of the desk, and a large, bulky cash register set right next to it. On the other side of the computer, a calendar hung on the wall.
Rose froze as she noticed the calendar, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully as she realized it was the wrong month’s calendar. Her lips tilted upward into a smile as she noticed that one of the dates were circled in faded blue ink.
Inside the circle, someone had scribbled, “Thomas’s birthday.”
She shrugged. “It’s worth a try,” she muttered to herself.
Rose leaned forward and typed the birthdate into the computer. The screen went dark, and then, after a few moments, the desktop screen appeared.
“I did it!” she announced. She glanced around and, remembering that no one was in the room to share her giddy excitement, she turned back toward the computer and muttered under her breath, “Stop talking to yourself, Rose.”
—
Kallias froze as the doors suddenly swung open, crashing against the wall. The tall, younger vampire stood in the doorway, his brown eyes studying Kallias, a mixture of rage and anxiety darkening his eyes. However high on blood the vampire had been a few minutes ago, he seemed fully aware now, no doubt sobered by the agony caused by the alarms. Blood stained the vampire’s ears, neck, and even the collar of his shirt. Kallias watched the vampire warily.
“Who the hell are you? And why’d ya do that?” the vampire drawled.
Kallias straightened, careful not to let the vampire see any signs of his weakened state. He’d made a mistake by using his telepathic abilities while he was injured. He felt severely weakened. His head felt constricted, pounding in time with the steady pulse of his heart, and every muscle in his body felt tired.
“I don’t see how that is any of your business,” Kallias said.
“Listen here, asshole. Those alarms hurt like hell. So, yeah, it’s my business,” the vampire snarled. His brown eyes narrowed dangerously, and he hooked his thumb back toward the dining room. “You also ran off our food.”
Kallias took a slow, measured step toward the vampire. “Yeah, about that—the food part. What were you and your friend thinking? You can’t kill that many humans in one night, and you certainly can’t kill humans in a public place.”
“Who died and made you king?” the vampire growled. “I’ll kill as many people as I want. I ain’t gonna let you tell me who I can and can’t eat.”
“Is that what you were planning to tell Aaron?” Kallias asked.
The vampire frowned. “Who the hell is Aaron?” he drawled.
“You must be a baby vampire, if you don’t know that,” Kallias taunted.
The vampire glared at him. “Don’t call me that. I ain’t a baby. Just because I ain’t been a vampire long don’t give you a right to call me a baby,” he snarled. His accent was so strong that his words were barely understandable.
“The vampire that changed you never mentioned Aaron?” Kallias asked.
“Nope,” the vampire said, the ball cap wobbling over his shaggy brown hair as he scratched his head. He glanced back toward the dining room.
“That was very reckless on his part,” Kallias commented.
“Who is this Aaron? The boogeyman?” the vampire asked irritably.
“Worse,” Kallias scoffed. “He’s an ancient vampire that won’t hesitate to kill you, if you put our kind at risk the way you almost did tonight.”
The vampire showed the first hint of hesitancy, nervousness flashing in his eyes. If nothing else, the vampire at least knew that ancient vampires were dangerous. “Well, seeing as he’s not here, I don’t see any reason to be afraid.”
Kallias nodded. “Except I’m also an ancient vampire, and while Aaron and I don’t see eye-to-eye on many things, we do happen to agree on this issue.”
“How ancient?” the vampire asked worriedly.
“Twenty-five hundred years old,” Kallias answered.
The vampire froze. “All of the sudden, I ain’t feeling so pissed off.”
Kallias snorted, “Good. Then, I’d advise you to leave while you still can.”
The vampire stared at him for a moment and gave a tight nod. He turned to leave, his hand on the steel door, but then, he suddenly straightened and inhaled deeply. He turned back toward Kallias. “There’s still a human in here.”
Kallias took a step to the side, placing himself between the vampire and the office door. “You will not touch her,” he growled. “Do you understand?”
The vampire frowned. “Oh. Is she yours?”
Kallias watched the vampire warily. “Yes,” he lied reluctantly.
To his relief, the vampire relaxed. “You’re lucky. She smells delicious.”
“Yeah, she does,” Kallias agreed, swallowing uneasily.
The young vampire nodded. “Yeah, Brent already explained to me about the blood bond thing and respecting other vampires’ property and all that.”
“She is no one’s property,” Kallias growled without thinking.
The vampire suddenly frowned at him. “What?”
Kallias blinked, shocked by his own slip-up. “Nothing. Just leave. Now.”
“Okay,” the vampire said hesitantly. He turned and pushed open the kitchen doors to head back to the dining room, but before he could leave the kitchen, the other vampire appeared in the doorway, glaring at the younger one.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the second vampire growled.
“There ain’t nothing for us here, Brent,” the younger vampire said.
The older vampire narrowed his eyes at Kallias but continued to speak to the other vampire, “Chris, I told you to kill the vampire that ran off our food, and yet, I see him standing there, unscathed. So, why are you leaving?”
The taller vampire leaned toward him. “This vampire is old, Brent,” he whispered. “Like two thousand and something. I think we should just leave.”
“I think that would be a wise choice,” Kallias agreed.
The shorter vampire, Brent, growled at him, “No one asked you.”
“Come on. I don’t wanna go getting killed tonight,” Chris said worriedly.
“I’m not afraid of him,” Brent snarled, straightening haughtily.
“You should be,” Kallias said. “You’re still a young vampire yourself.”
Brent scowled at him. “How do you know how old I am?”
“That
’s why you haven’t told him about Aaron yet. You don’t even know who he is. You’re too young to be creating new vampires,” Kallias continued.
The vampire’s brows furrowed at the mention of Aaron, confirming Kallias’s suspicion. “I can make new vampires whenever I want. It’s none of your business. Oh, and nice try, trying to scare us away, but it’s not going to work.”
Kallias sighed tiredly, “Can’t you see I am trying to avoid killing you?”
“I think that what you’re trying to do is run us off before we decide to take your human,” Brent argued. He brushed his black hair out of his face. “I smell her. You have her hidden in that office behind you. Give her to us.”
“She’s his,” Chris told him. “We can’t have her.”
Brent rolled his eyes. “Damn it, Chris, why are you so stupid? Do you smell a blood bond? No, you don’t. Because there’s not one. She is not his.”
Chris looked at Kallias. “You lied to me?” he asked in a betrayed tone.
Kallias shrugged one shoulder. “Sorry,” he said insincerely.
“You can’t stop us from taking her, if she’s not yours,” Brent said.
Kallias straightened. “I can tear you to shreds. I think that might stop you,” he growled in warning. “Or you could walk away while you still can.”
“Why does she smell like dried blood?” Brent asked suspiciously.
“Can’t we just leave?” Chris asked the shorter vampire.
Brent glared at him. “Think about it, Chris. He’s trying to protect a human that he hasn’t even bound to himself. Why do you think he’s doing that, huh? She smells like dried blood, which means she’s been bitten or injured at some point. She also smells extremely powerful. Doesn’t this ring any bells for you? Theron described a human just like that, and he also said a vampire was protecting her. I think this is the human Theron wants. And I don’t know about you, but I would rather face this vampire than face Theron’s wrath later.”
“You’re working with Theron,” Kallias realized. He sighed, as if the realization bored him, and pulled out his dagger. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
—
“Done,” Rose said with a pleased smile as she clicked the button to shut down the computer. Not only had she managed to turn off the cameras like Kallias had asked her to do, but she’d also erased all of the footage of Kallias and her, just in case someone decided to snoop for information about the fire alarms.
“Why do you smell so good?” asked a quiet male voice in the doorway.
Rose spun around in the office chair, her eyes widening as she saw the short, black-haired vampire in the doorway, staring at her with dark, hungry eyes.
The vampire took a step toward her, his head cocked to the side as he studied her with his intense, predatory gaze. “Theron mentioned that your blood would smell powerful, but that description didn’t even remotely prepare me for how powerful you smell. What are you? Humans don’t smell the way you do.”
Rose frowned at that. “Don’t come any closer,” she warned.
He laughed darkly, as if he didn’t find her the least bit intimidating. His inky black hair fell to the side as he continued to study her with his head tilted to the side. “Or what?” he sneered. “Your boyfriend isn’t in here to save you.”
She sighed irritably, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Listen, Rose. That’s your name, right? Rose?” he asked, taking another step toward her. “I’ll make a deal with you. Come with me, and I won’t make this any more painful than it has to be. Otherwise…well…I think you understand.”
“Do I seem stupid? Because I’m not,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “You, on the other hand, might be, if you really think I’ll come quietly based on an empty promise of less pain. Theron will hurt me as much as he wants, regardless.”
“Oh, yes. I know that Theron will hurt you,” the vampire said, a sadistic smile curving at his lips. “The negotiable offer is how much I will hurt you.”
“For us to negotiate, I’d need to trust you, and I don’t,” Rose said.
He took a step toward her. “Then, I suppose I will make this painful.”
She leaned forward in her chair. “I said don’t come any closer.”
“What are you going to do? Talk me to death?” the vampire taunted as he continued to approach her slowly. Only a few feet separated them now.
Rose swiftly shoved her hand under the desk and grabbed the gun clipped to the bottom of it. She pointed the gun and clicked off the safety, moving so quickly that the chair rolled backward into the wall as she pointed the gun at him. “That, or I could just shoot you,” she said, placing her finger on the trigger.
The vampire froze, so surprised by the sudden appearance of the gun that he just stood there for a moment, glancing back and forth between her and the desk, as if he were wondering how the gun had gotten there. Finally, he smiled. “Bullets don’t kill our kind, human. I guess your boyfriend forgot to tell you…”
His sentence ended abruptly as Rose pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed through the room so loudly that even Rose cringed at the thunderous noise. For a moment, Rose stared in shock as blood poured from the vampire’s shoulder, darkening the navy blue fabric of his shirt until it turned black.
“Shit!” the vampire screeched. “Damn it. That hurts.”
“I already told you that he’s not my boyfriend,” Rose reminded him.
He glared murderously at her. “You will regret that, you psychotic bitch!”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course. You almost murdered an entire restaurant full of people, but I am the psychotic one,” she muttered sarcastically.
In a rapid blur of movement, he raced toward her, standing in front of her before she even realized he’d moved. He wrenched the gun out of her hand and tossed it aside. He jerked her up by her arm, her body slamming against him.
She winced as he nearly crushed her arm in his grip. “Let go of me.”
“You’re lucky that Theron wants you alive because if he didn’t, I’d snap your neck right now, you infuriating human,” the vampire snarled in her face.
She cringed as his metallic-scented breath fell against her face.
The vampire froze suddenly and dipped his face to her wrist. He inhaled deeply, his eyes darkening with hunger. “What are you? You smell amazing!”
She frowned as he asked that question again. “I’m human. Obviously.”
He pressed his face against her neck and sniffed again, holding tightly to her as she tried to push him away. He groaned, “Theron didn’t warn me that you would smell this irresistible. I can’t hold back. I’m so hungry. I need to taste you.”
“Uh, what?” she sputtered as she fought against him.
He pulled back and lifted her wrist to his mouth. “One taste won’t hurt.”
The vampire suddenly sank his fangs into her wrist and began to drink her blood relentlessly, groaning at the taste. Rose grasped blindly at the table with her free hand, grabbing the first pen she touched. As her head began to spin from the endorphins, she quickly jabbed the sharp end of the pen into the side of his head. He released her with a feral growl and jerked the pen out of his head.
As blood poured from the side of his head, matting his inky black hair, he tried to snatch her up again, but before his hands could wrap around her, he froze. His eyes seemed to become blank, and then, his body fell to the ground.
Rose scrambled backward as his body fell forward, collapsing face-first onto the floor. Her eyes widened as she noticed the huge, gaping hole in his back and the blackish-burgundy blood that bubbled up out of it and coated his torn shirt. Swallowing uneasily, she slowly looked up. Kallias stood in front of her.
Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. Blood splattered his face and chest, leaving dark, wet patches on his black clothing, and droplets of blood glistened on his neck and arms. A thick layer of blood coated one arm from his fingertips to his elbow, and in that hand, he held a crushed, fles
hy object, coated with dark blood that dripped onto the floor, leaving a small pool at his feet.
“Kallias,” she said, staring blankly at the fleshy object. “Is that his heart?”
Kallias stared at her, his eyes wide and dark. “Yes.”
Rose blinked. “I thought so.”
“Your wrist is bleeding,” he informed her.
“What?” Rose sputtered. She glanced down at her wrist, and her eyes widened as she saw the thin, watery blood streaming from her wrist into the floor.
Kallias dropped the heart on the floor and wiped his blood-covered hands on his jeans, which didn’t help much. He stepped closer to her, panting harshly as he took her wrist into his hand. He turned her hand palm-up, his eyes darkening with hunger as he watched the blood ooze from the cuts in her wrist.
“This isn’t a clean bite,” he breathed. “It won’t heal on its own.”
Rose stared up at him, studying the dangerous hunger that flashed in his dilated brown eyes. She knew she should be afraid of him, but she wasn’t. She felt shocked, perhaps, but not afraid. “Do you think I need to go to the hospital?”
“We don’t have time,” Kallias said. “I’ll have to heal the wound.”
Before Rose could object, Kallias lifted her wrist to his mouth. She inhaled sharply as his tongue caressed the torn, sensitive skin. Those strange, pleasant sensations coursed through her body again, just as they had the last time he’d healed her. She bit down on her bottom lip, fighting the urge to moan.
Kallias groaned as he tasted the blood on her skin, blood that tasted too sweet and too powerful to be human blood. The wound on her wrist began to heal, but he continued to lick the blood left on the skin. The hunger twisted at his stomach and burned his throat. He needed her blood, and he needed it now.
Rose frowned as she felt his sharp fangs press into her wrist. “Kallias?”
The Stone of the Eklektos Page 39