The Living Weapon (Davenport Manor Book 2)

by Melissa Zaroski

  People recognized Zachariah and thought Todd looked familiar, but totally disgusting. Everyone stopped and stared at the odd-looking group that just piled into the foyer.

  “Listen up!” Zachariah’s voice thundered. “Everyone out! Every single one of you needs to get out of our house!”

  Their arrogant faces were surprised at his request; it was too early to shut a party down. But, most started putting down their drinks, going to get their coats and purses, and moving toward the door that was blocked by the guards. Making sure nothing got stolen as Kelly had relayed to Emma, the guards took each person aside and charmed them into giving back anything that they might have swiped. There were quite a few, mostly girls, who pulled something out of their coats and purses. Emma decided to let them go, but not without allowing the guards to charm whatever they wanted.

  The charms they did on them were not to make them frightened, but to assure that they would embarrass themselves in the future. One girl was charmed to always wear “mom jeans” from that day forward. Another was charmed to lick the window of her car every time she was at a red light. One more was charmed to do the Macarena every time she finished crossing a street. Not wanting to be too cruel, Emma told them that their punishments were to last just for a year.

  Kelly had come down the stairs when she heard Zachariah’s booming voice, relieved that they were finally home to take control of things. She and Todd spotted each other and she walked over to him to give him a hug. He recognized her, but it was hard to place from where. Kelly and Todd went to go sit down in the parlor and stay out of the way while the others sorted out the crowd control. Emma spotted Brianna making her way toward the door, preparing to be pulled aside by a guard like everyone else. Emma glared at her and made eye contact for a moment before Brianna looked away, hoping to slip past her.

  “Not so fast…” Emma said, putting her hand on her chest to stop her. “We’re going to have a little chit chat before you go.” Emma gave her a Cheshire cat grin, but it didn’t seem to faze Brianna. She had no idea who or what she was dealing with when it came to the Davenports.

  Once everyone was out, Brianna’s little partner-in-crime, Stacy called out, “Hey Bri, you coming?”

  “She’ll catch up with you later,” Emma replied for her.

  “I can talk for myself, you know,” Brianna snapped at her.

  “Not tonight, you don’t,” Emma cooed sarcastically.

  Brianna abruptly folded her arms and shifted her weight to one side, giving Emma full-body attitude.

  “You come into my home, invite strangers into my private residence who are stealing from us, defacing our property, and trashing the place. Now I have the pleasure of cleaning all of this up.”

  “Just have your maid do it,” Brianna snapped.

  “I don’t have a maid,” Emma gritted her teeth.

  “Why not? It’s not like you can’t afford one.”

  “Because I’m not a spoiled brat and I do my own chores.” Emma couldn’t tell her that she could clean the entire house at an inhuman speed.

  “Oh, I get it! You’re the maid!” Brianna snapped her fingers in the air. “That’s why Daniel and Zachariah allow you to ride on their coattails!”

  Emma unleashed the monster inside of her. She grabbed an unsuspecting Brianna by the throat, shoved her against the wall, and raised her up. She roared, baring her fangs at the petrified girl who grabbed at Emma’s hands to release her. Her legs wiggled around like a dancing fish, trying to get away from Emma’s grasp. Her face began to turn a reddish purple from the lack of oxygen when Zachariah stepped in to tell her to ease up. During this time, Brianna piddled on herself, causing an embarrassing wet spot all over the front of her trendy jeans.

  Emma’s hand let go, allowing her to drop to the floor where she curled up like a pretzel, coughing and gasping for air in the middle of her sobs. Emma loomed over her, waiting for her to compose herself before laying into her with words instead of physical fear.

  “You…oh honey, I’m just getting started on you," Emma scowled through tight lips.

  “What are you?” Brianna cried in between coughs.

  Emma sadistically chuckled, “I’m a fairy princess.” She slowly squatted down and got in her face, so close they were touching noses. She then screamed at the top of her lungs with her fangs gleaming, “What does it look like I am?” She began hissing and attacked her again, this time she grabbed her by the leg and flung her across the room like a pair of dirty underwear. Zachariah ran at top speed to catch her so she wouldn’t get hurt—he knew Emma was out of her mind at the moment.

  By now Todd and Kelly had returned to the foyer to watch Emma unfold; neither had ever seen her so ferocious, not even when she fought off her and Todd’s attackers downtown. She was becoming completely unhinged, losing all the restraint she had so proudly contained for decades. Vampires had a hard time keeping their emotions in check, especially anger, but Emma was always one who had an immense amount of self-control. However, her evening was awful and coming home to find that Brianna had completely violated her home made her natural, protective instincts kick in. Her brain and body were telling her to kill, completely abandoned by her conscience.

  The guards stood back and allowed their Queen to proceed with her retaliation, enjoying watching her ditch her kindness and turn into the brutal vampire that she was deep within. She bent her knees and sprung once again, grabbing Brianna by the shoulders and whipping her away from Zachariah’s grasp. She slightly leaned her head back and struck so fast that the human eye couldn’t grasp what had just happened. Zachariah tried to jump at her to stop her, but he wasn’t fast enough. Emma had sunk her fangs into Brianna’s neck, who was too stunned to make a sound.

  Zachariah tried to gently pull Emma off of her by lightly taking hold of the side of her arms and pulling back, his voice gently coaxing her to let go. She whipped around and took a snap at him, hissing in defense, then returned to the open wounds in Brianna’s neck. She was losing blood fast and her body became weaker with each moment; her eyes began to relax and the color of her tanned skin looked pale and ashy.

  “Emma!” Zachariah hollered with a stern tone. “If you kill her, Daniel will never forgive you! Rein it in, Emma. Come back to me.”

  Emma slowly released her mouth from Brianna’s neck and unsteadily turned to look at Zachariah with a horrified stare in her eyes. She had blood dripping from her lower lip and down her chin, something she never allowed herself to do. Aidan always taught her to be neat when she drank, never wasting a drop.

  “Emma…” Zachariah inched toward her, his hand hesitantly outreached. “Stop.”

  She carelessly dropped Brianna onto the floor, who hit with a loud thud on the hard surface. Emma looked down at her, her arms awkwardly extended as if she had just mistakenly dropped a bucket of water. Brianna looked deceased to the humans, but the vampires could hear a faint heartbeat. Zachariah rushed over to her while simultaneously biting his wrist and shoving it to her mouth. As his cold blood trickled down her throat, Brianna slowly began to flush with color once again, her heartbeat becoming stronger. She regained consciousness and began to shake from fear as she made eye contact with Emma, recalling the events that had just taken place.

  Zachariah was about to charm her to forget, but Emma swooped in, knelt on the floor, and locked eyes as they were face-to-face.

  “You will forget what I am. You will forget vampires exist. You’ll forget all that just took place here. But…you won’t forget your fear of me and every time you see me, you’ll know nothing except that I am terrifying,” Emma spoke through clenched teeth.

  Brianna’s eyes widened just from looking at Emma’s face that was inches away. She frantically scooted back, scrambling to get away from her. She had no idea why she was so petrified of Daniel’s sister, but something about her struck fear into every nerve of her body.

  Zachariah charmed her into being searched by the guards and then told her that she would never step foot o
n the property after she left. She physically wouldn’t be able to put a single foot on the ground. He sent her over to the guards, who found a few of Emma’s jewels and perfumes in her bag, then escorted her out the door to her car. Emma dismissed the remaining guards for the night and thanked them for all of their help that evening.

  Emma sat on the floor in the middle of the foyer and rested her forehead in her hands. She rubbed her eyes and looked up to find that everyone was silent, yet staring at her, shocked by her behavior.

  “Don’t judge,” she stated. “Everyone flips out…”

  “I’m not judging,” Zachariah said as he sat down next to her. “You okay? I haven’t seen you flip out like that in at least a century.”

  She graciously nodded and looked to Todd and Kelly, who were cautiously standing in the doorway of the parlor. “I’m sorry, guys. I never wanted you to see that side of me.”

  Todd shrugged, “Not like she didn’t have it coming.” He flashed her a sly smile that instantly made her relax.

  She brought herself back to the present matters at hand, slapped her hands on her lap and stood up. Todd was her number one concern right now. “What do you feel like doing first? Do you want to eat? Shower?” How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay,” he answered. “A little weak, but not bad. I’m hungry, but I have to shower! I can’t wait to get cleaned up!”

  “Okay, I’ll help you get upstairs and make sure you’re okay while you get cleaned up. Zachariah, can you please fix him something to eat?” Emma requested. “Kelly, where is Daniel right now?”

  “He’s asleep on Todd’s couch,” she replied, starting to feel kind of awkward now that ‘the gang’ was back together and everyone seemed to have a job to do. They had yet to tell him Kelly’s role in the situation and that she had been staying in his room. Perhaps they’d fill him in while he ate dinner.

  Zachariah invited Kelly to come along with him to the kitchen while Emma took Todd upstairs. He rarely made food, so he didn’t have much of a clue about what to make. He asked Kelly if she could whip something up for Todd and herself and use anything she needed in the kitchen. She felt a little better now that she was being useful and not just lingering around, feeling out of place.

  Emma and Todd walked in to his room where they found Daniel still sleeping on the couch.

  “Is he okay?” Todd asked, knowing Emma could hear if his heart and breathing sounded normal.

  She paused to listen for a moment and replied, “Yeah, he sounds alright, we’ll just keep an eye on him.” She turned back to Todd who was gazing at her.

  “What?” She asked.

  He smiled, “I can’t thank you enough. You’ll never know how good it was to see your face.” He pulled her into a tight embrace, closed his eyes, and didn’t let go for several moments.

  As they slowly pulled back from each other, they locked eyes, both feeling the electricity from the other, but neither of them acted on it. The last time they had seen or spoken to each other they had amicably broken up.

  Emma was the first to look away and back up, which snapped them out of their trance. She glanced back at Daniel who had slightly stirred on the couch.

  “Oh, you never told me why that girl Kelly is here,” Todd spoke first, changing the subject from their silent moment together.

  “Tell you what,” Emma started. “I’ll fill you in during your dinner after you’ve showered. You’re a bit stinky, sir.” She teased by waving her hand in front of her nose.

  Embarrassed, Todd chuckled and excused himself to the bathroom to finally take a much-desired shower. He couldn’t wait to wash of the remnants of the past few weeks’ bad memories. Normally, Emma would have jumped in there with him, but now, it would be considered weird since they were no longer an item.

  She walked over to Daniel and sat on the floor next to him as he started to wake up. His groggy, drugged-up eyes peeked open and saw her blurry vision in front of him. He felt like he had been hit by a train. He rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing from the worst headache he had ever experienced.

  “Emma?” He croaked. “What happened?”

  “What happened with you? Or what happened with Todd?” She clarified.

  He meant for himself, but since she reminded him he replied, “Both.”

  “We got Todd,” she smiled broadly. “But, this isn’t over yet, I guarantee it. I might have you go stay in your condo downtown so you’re not in the middle of it all. You, on the other hand…well, we have reason to believe that Brianna drugged you.” She gently stroked the hair off of his forehead, which caused him to close his eyes. It was a nice contradiction to his pounding headache. “Are you thirsty? Hungry?”

  He made a disgusted face when he thought of food, but told her he could use a glass of water. She knocked on the bathroom door and got Todd’s permission to enter so she could get a glass of water for Daniel. She didn’t have glasses in her bathroom since she never needed them. She also grabbed the bottle of over-the-counter pain killers from his medicine cabinet to give him for his headache.

  “Let’s get you to your bed,” she suggested. “Do you need me to carry you?” She teased in a baby voice.

  He laughed and shook his head, his dignity would have been killed if he had her carry him like a child. Although, deep down he would have loved to have had someone carry him to bed so he didn’t have to walk. She helped him walk down the hallway to his bedroom, which he was thankful was only three doors away, however very far apart. He crawled into bed and she made sure he had a full glass of water on his nightstand. She reassured him that she would be listening, so if he needed her to say the word.

  She left his room and began walking back to Todd’s, thinking to herself, Geez, I’m just taking care of all the battered boys tonight!

  She entered Todd’s room and heard that the shower had been turned off. Todd emerged with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked slightly thinner and less defined than before he was kidnapped, but he was still irresistible to her. She loved a freshly-showered man, especially him. His long, wavy hair was slicked back and looked darker since it was wet. He still had a few droplets of water on his chest, making him slightly glisten. He looked and smelled divine. It was familiar to her, someone that was hers for the past year. But, she had to look away because that was no longer hers to claim.

  “I’ll, uh, give you some privacy to get dressed,” she said as she was about to pull the door shut as she walked out. “I’ll meet you downstairs and we can talk while you eat.”

  Didn’t work, he thought to himself. She couldn’t wait to get out of here. He slipped on his pajamas, which had never felt so good since he had been lying in a suit for the past few weeks. He noticed some of Emma’s clothes in his room and his bed was unmade, which led him to believe that she had been staying in his room. But, she never slept, so why was his bed unmade? It made him feel good thinking that she had missed him that much.

  Todd joined Emma, Zachariah, and Kelly in the dining room where a meal of ravioli and garlic bread awaited him. Kelly had prepared him a plate and set his place next to hers at the table, Emma and Zachariah were seated across from them with wine glasses of blood. He sat down and gave Kelly a pleasant, but odd “hello” and couldn’t wait to dive in to his food. There was a weird silence as the two humans began eating, like they were on the most awkward double date ever.

  “So, Kelly…not to sound rude, but why are you here?” Todd asked, genuinely curious, not trying to be a jerk.

  She wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so she looked to Emma for an answer.

  “I did some awesome P.I. work and Facebook stalking,” Emma replied, batting her innocent eyes. She explained to Todd the entire process of finding Kelly and how willing she was to help find him, to which he was extremely grateful. However, she saved the best part for last. “She was how we communicated with Elizabeth—she would speak to her, Elizabeth found you and was our makeshift messenger. Elizabeth was the one who found the address of
the house and relayed it all to Kelly.”

  Surprised, Todd turned to Kelly and said, “How were you able to see Elizabeth? She only appears to…” He stopped himself before he said too much.

  “…To living weapons,” Kelly completed, which caused Todd to stop chewing his food with a shocked look on his face.

  “Are you saying…are you a living weapon, too?” He asked.

  “I am,” she smiled, feeling like she had yet another connection with him. They were part of an elite, little club that most didn’t know existed or that they were even in it.

  Zachariah explained that after they met Kelly they tried to make her forget, but to their surprise, she didn’t. “We have kept it quiet,” he explained. “Emma and I and two of the guards are the only vampires who know.”

  Todd was still astonished that he was meeting yet another living weapon like himself, even though their kind was so incredibly rare. “Well, no wonder we were drawn to each other,” he flirted by nudging her arm with his elbow, making Kelly beam.

  Emma slightly shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable and a tad jealous watching Kelly and Todd connect with each other. She was feeling a little territorial, but had to remind herself that he was no longer hers to claim.

  “Oh, I don’t know if Emma told you, but I have been staying in your room for the past couple of days. I hope you don’t mind,” Kelly admitted.

  “I wondered why Emma’s clothes were in there and why the bed looked slept in! Especially since this one doesn’t sleep,” he nonchalantly pointed at Emma with his fork.

  The two continued to have a lively conversation as if they had known each other for years while Emma and Zachariah remained silent, occasionally glancing at one another.

  “I feel like we’re the third and fourth wheels here,” Emma breathed so quietly that only Zachariah could hear.

  “Since you two are done eating, why don’t we move this into the parlor,” Zachariah suggested, breaking Emma’s tension. “We still have some things to discuss…this ordeal is far from over, I can assure you.”