The Living Weapon (Davenport Manor Book 2)

by Melissa Zaroski

  She flinched, angry at her own stupidity. She then said, “I’m just nervous, but I refuse to let you or them down. If anything happened to Zachariah, I’d be devastated.”

  Todd nodded and gave her a thumbs up. He then typed, Just type back and forth on here. He handed it to her before he got up to flip the chicken over.

  I know this is a weird situation and we were kind of thrown into it together, but I believe it was supposed to happen. If I hadn’t met you at that party, you may never have been found. I really felt like I connected with you there, like I had known you for years. Since I’m going to be staying here…and if we make it out of this alive…do you think you’d give me a chance? Because frankly, I really like you.

  Todd returned to the table and sat down while she slid the phone over to him. He took a moment to read it, but the thoughts had already been running through his head. It still made his stomach sink every time he thought about Emma being just his friend. He adored her with his entire being. But, it would have never worked in the end. Nothing gets a person over their ex faster than dating someone new. A soft smile spread across his lips and he looked up from the phone at Kelly’s eyes that were full of anticipation. She bit her lower lip, nervous about what he would say.

  He mouthed, I like you, too. Yes. He reached across the table and took her hand, holding it for a moment and giving it a squeeze.

  Kelly’s heart was in a flutter, filled with happiness from his answer. She had been so nervous about spilling her feelings like that, but was so glad she did.

  They heard the back door being unlocked and swiftly let go of each other’s hand. Todd immediately deleted what was written on his phone and discarded the email, leaving no trail. Zachariah came through the door holding a plastic bag with their supplies.

  “You know, shopping for battle supplies isn’t as cool as I thought it would be—one in the toy section, one in the first aid section, and another in the school supplies section. It was kind of lame,” Zachariah boasted as he set the bags down on the counter.

  Todd had gotten up to take the chicken out of the oven and the timer on the vegetable steamer was about to go off. Kelly took out a couple of plates and silverware and then poured them each a glass of water. Emma heard Zachariah come home and entered the kitchen, going to the hidden fridge to pour a glass of blood for herself. Zachariah joined her and popped their glasses into the microwave.

  As they all went to sit down at the kitchen table, Kelly was about to sit next to Todd. Emma motioned for her to go around to the other side and sit by Zachariah since he was her “boyfriend”—just in case one of the others came in.

  “Look at the four of us!” Zachariah said with silly enthusiasm. “Just one little, happy family! Isn’t that right Pookie Bear?” He laid a kiss on Kelly’s cheek, which was startling because of his cold lips.

  Emma chuckled and shook her head. She nudged Todd with her elbow, which was nearly electrifying for the both of them, just a simple touch that almost felt forbidden. “How are you holding up?”

  He nodded as he chewed his food, waiting to swallow before answering, “I feel pretty good about this. Training with Aidan has been really helpful, I have an idea of what to expect. He got me a few times, but I got better at it.”

  She loved his confidence; they all did. If their living weapon was sure of himself, then they didn’t feel like they stood a chance of being defeated.

  Chapter 12

  The following afternoon Emma brought out the containers full of Todd’s blood that had been drained from him during captivity. Zachariah was stretching out the water balloons and reminded Todd and Kelly to blow some air into them after they were filled so they popped easier.

  “And…I’ll leave you to it,” Zachariah said while backing away slowly. “I don’t want to be near that stuff any longer than I have to be.”

  “Okay then,” Kelly laughed. She glanced at Todd who flashed a sweet smile at her while he wrapped a balloon around the funnel he had. She flirtatiously smiled back, and touched his arm; it drove her crazy that she couldn’t speak what she was thinking to him. She grabbed a funnel as well and began to pour a small amount of blood into her balloon.

  It took a while to get the hang of it and smoothly do the task, but they finally had gotten into a groove. The only part that grossed Kelly out was when she had to blow some air into the balloons as she would occasionally get some blood on her lips.

  “No offense, but ew,” she said as she wiped Todd’s blood off of her mouth with a paper towel.

  He chuckled, “Live around here long enough and you’ll get used to swallowing a bit of blood. It’s no big deal to me now.”

  “Does theirs taste the same as ours?” She asked, referring to the vampires.

  “No, it’s kind of sweet and salty; a very unique taste. But, much easier to drink than human blood and it is beneficial when you’re in a pinch. If you get hurt it’ll heal you right up,” he replied as he snapped his fingers.

  Kelly thought about it for a moment and added, “Can it cure illnesses, too? Like cancer?”

  “No, just injuries. Human illnesses are a completely different ballgame.”

  “It’s too bad they don’t use them in hospitals, there would be fewer fatalities because of car accidents and stuff like that,” Kelly said.

  “It’s not the first time that has been mentioned,” Todd explained. “Emma has always said she’d be willing to donate blood to hospitals if they decide to come out into the open.”

  “Are they really thinking about coming out into the open? Going public?” Kelly asked.

  He shrugged, “It has been talked about and I know Emma said she could see it happening soon. But, ‘soon’ to them has a whole different meaning to them. ‘Soon’ to them could mean decades from now; they have all the time in the world. Whereas ‘soon’ to us means within a very short amount of time.”

  They continued filling their balloons, each consumed within their own thoughts on the subject. Todd had reservations about vampires coming out into the open, afraid that people may react in a horrible manner. Kelly, on the other hand, thought it would be awesome and felt a majority of people would embrace them, especially if they were able to heal injuries.

  Emma was becoming antsy not knowing when, if ever, Declan would show up. She ended up caving in to her impatience and called Vivienne, who happened to be on a break when her phone rang.

  Emma greeted her and asked how her day was going, making the usual best friend chit chat. Vivienne asked if there was any news about Todd, but Emma continued the charade and told her “no”.

  “So, is Declan still coming out? I want to make sure I have his room ready, but I haven’t heard from him,” Emma casually asked, sending out some feelers.

  “He actually left this morning, so he should be in Chicago by now,” Vivienne replied, somewhat confused. “I’m surprised he hasn’t called you.”

  “He’s probably busy in meetings, no big deal. I’ll make sure we’re stocked up on blood if he comes here. I’ll have Zachariah give him a call,” Emma lied.

  They continued to talk for a few minutes as Emma was putting on the performance of her life. Once they hung up, Emma announced so everyone in the house would hear, “Declan’s in Chicago, I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t happen tonight.”

  Kelly and Todd began to work faster, realizing that time was of the essence now that Declan was in town. He’d realize soon enough that Todd was gone and there was no doubt that the first place that he would look would be the Manor. There were just ten more to go and Todd was the most agile at making the blood balloons, so Kelly took what was complete to the kitchen. She wanted to rinse the exteriors just in case there were any droplets of blood on them.

  She carefully placed them in clean buckets and scurried back to the parlor where all the vampires had convened. They were assembling their weapon holsters to various parts of their body and strapping their bags to their side. The strap went across their torso diagonally on one shoulder t
hen another snapped around their waist, keeping it close to their body. All one could hear was the frantic snapping and clicking of their makeshift weapon holders being set into place.

  “Vivienne said he left L.A. this morning, so I’m thinking it could be soon,” Emma said as she braided her hair to get it out of her face. She wound it into a low bun and pinned it in place. She took her favorite dagger, slid it into its sheath, and secured it into the holster attached to her thigh. She wore a pair of old, black leggings and a long sleeve black shirt with her bag attached to her side.

  “I don’t think I have ever seen you look so badass,” Zachariah commented as he finished attaching his holster. “You kinda remind me of Lara Croft!”

  Emma laughed and accepted the compliment; she felt pretty badass, too.

  Aidan had both a dagger and a sword as his weapons of choice. He was handy with the sword, trained for battle when he was a human in Scotland. He slid it into the sheath at his side and looked nothing less than barbaric. He was larger than life—tall, powerful, muscular—a trained warrior. He didn’t realize until that moment that he had been craving a battle.

  Mackenzie began filling her bag and asked how many balloons there were so they’d each get an equal amount.

  “There are one hundred and eighty,” Todd replied as he came in with the last of the balloons that they had worked on all afternoon. “There should be enough for fifteen each. I sure hope that’s enough.”

  “I hope so, too,” she said as she counted fifteen for herself. She already had her hair pulled back into a tight bun to keep her long, wild hair out of the way.

  Kelly took a cue from the two female vampires and began to braid her own fiery hair, but needed help from Emma to pin it into place. She never wore a bun; usually letting her red waves lay loose or in a ponytail.

  Todd tucked his wavy locks behind his ears and pulled on a black bandana, tying it in the back. He wore a black tank top so that his skin would be exposed in case of an emergency, hoping someone would make the mistake of biting him. He planned to cut his arms once the enemies arrived so that he would have his own blood exposed. He knew he would be cold outside, but he was certain the adrenaline coursing through his body would keep him warm. Emma looked over at him with a moment of lust in her eyes. She had never seen him look like a bad boy, but he nailed it that evening. He was tall and somewhat lanky, but he had a great set of muscles on his arms and chest. He had a look of determination, as if he was fully prepared to kill every enemy that crossed his path.

  He caught Emma blatantly staring at him and she snapped her head in the opposite direction. Busted! She casually walked over to the remaining pile of weapons on the floor and grabbed a dagger, sheath, holster, and a bag for him. She brought the things over to him and began helping him snap everything on as he filled his bag with balloons. She knelt down to his side and reached around his thigh, strapping the dagger on. Her touch sent shockwaves through his body. She stood back up and faced him, slowly reaching around his waist to snap the bag into place. He inhaled deeply, fending off the feelings that he tried to keep locked off in the back of his brain.

  “You be careful,” he simply said, startling her as if he could read her thoughts. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, stay on alert.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she replied. She almost believed herself. “I want you to be careful, too.”

  “Pfft! I’m cool, I’m lethal remember?” He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  She nervously laughed and whined, “Todd! I’m serious!” She instinctively placed her hand on his chest, and then quickly pulled away once she realized what she did.

  “I’ll be fine, love,” he softly said, holding her eye contact. He swallowed hard and managed a slight smile.

  “Just in case I don’t get to say this later…” she started.

  “No! No goodbye talk,” he interrupted. He finished adjusting his straps and sternly added, “We’re going to be fine.” And just like that, he walked away from her to join Kelly and help her put on her weapons, leaving Emma standing alone.

  She walked over to the coffee table where she had placed a little bag full of mini liquor bottles that contained blood. However, this time they were filled with her blood. She aggressively grabbed the bag and walked over to Todd and Kelly, who were helping each other finish getting ready. She placed five bottles into each of their side bags, hoping that would be enough.

  “What are those?” Todd asked as he watched her fill their bags.

  “They’re mini bottles filled with my blood; if either of you get hurt, drink one and you will heal quickly,” she replied, looking back and forth to the both of them.

  “I didn’t even think of that,” Kelly stated. “Thank you!”

  Everyone filled their bags with the allotted amount of balloons. Zachariah began to pass out the surgical masks, shaking his head and laughing.

  “Never did I think I would be going into a potential battle armed with water balloons. I always thought it would be a bit more impressive than this,” he giggled. His laughter turned serious when they heard a car coming down the gravel driveway.

  They all snapped their heads toward the window to see the red SUV pulling up in front.

  “What the hell? That’s Daniel!” Emma shouted, horrified that he was there.

  She flew to the front door and opened it, watching Daniel slowly get out of his car. He began walking toward her with his head down, not muttering a word.

  “Daniel, what are you doing here? Are you crazy?” She exclaimed.

  He still didn’t speak, but continued to walk to the door with his head down.

  “Daniel?” She asked again.

  Zachariah appeared in the doorway, concerned by the lack of response from him. “Dan? What’s up, man?”

  Daniel finally stopped walking once he got in front of them and looked up with pleading eyes.

  “He’s been charmed,” Emma snapped in a moment of panic.

  Within a split second, Declan flew out of the car and appeared behind Daniel with a knife to his throat.

  Emma gasped and Zachariah jumped back at the horror of Daniel being held hostage.

  Declan calmly said, “Give me the living weapon and I’ll give you your brother. Shouldn’t be a difficult choice.”

  “If I give you Todd you’re just going to try to kill me anyway…so who’s to say you won’t kill Daniel anyway, too?” Emma replied, trying to stall.

  “Oh, come now darlin’, have a little faith,” Declan antagonized.

  “Faith?” Emma yelled. “You actually expect me to put my faith in you after what you have done?”

  “It’s nothing personal, love. I just want what you have,” he smooth-talked as if he was having a civilized conversation. He pressed the knife onto Daniel’s neck; not enough to pierce the skin, but enough to cause pain. His voice turned sinister, “You sure you don’t want to try that faith thing, my Queen?”

  Aidan motioned to the others to get ready and put on their masks as he planned a sneak attack on Declan. He moved through the house silently and went out the back door, rushing around the perimeter of the house to come up behind him. Declan spotted him from the corner of his eye, which startled him—he didn’t expect to see Aidan there.

  In an instant, he drove the knife across Daniel’s neck, slicing the skin open. Blood began to pour from the wound and Declan tossed him down onto the doorstep. He whipped around, bent his knees with his arms extended and knife in hand, preparing for Aidan’s impact.

  Emma let out a blood-curdling scream, too paralyzed with horror to move as she saw blood pooling on the ground. Daniel struggled to breathe as shock spread across his face, not being able to fathom what had just happened. All he felt was the searing pain in his neck and feeling warm liquid soaking his shoulder. Zachariah sprang into action, pushing past Emma and scooping Daniel up off the doorstep. He brought him inside and ran past the others, who gasped in terror at the sight of Daniel bleeding profusely from his neck. A bl
ood-stained path trailed behind him as he ran at top speed up the stairs and into the hallway, pausing for a moment to decide where to take him.

  He remembered the hidden room above Emma’s parents’ bedroom and quickly ran in that direction. He went inside the untouched room and pulled the perfume bottle that was attached to the dresser. He heard the familiar click of the secret door unlocking and pulled it open, rushing Daniel upstairs. He laid Daniel down in the middle of the floor, and knelt down next to him to begin working on him. Daniel’s eyes began to roll back as he lost consciousness, prompting Zachariah to move faster. He bit into his wrist and placed it to Daniel’s mouth, urging him to drink.

  “Come on, man! Drink!” Zachariah exclaimed as he tried to get blood down Daniel’s throat. He heard Daniel’s heart beginning to fade; the beats were becoming slower and each thump was weaker. He heard the gurgling in Daniel’s chest as he struggled to take breaths, each one becoming more labored than the last. His body began to relax and ultimately became entirely limp on the floor.

  “No! No! No! Come on, man! Not like this!” Zachariah screaming as blood tears pooled in his eyes. His voice was panicked as he pleaded with Daniel not to go. He soon realized that the slow trickle of blood coming from his wrist wasn’t going to be enough as Daniel couldn’t drink. He needed to get a faster flow of blood going. He looked at his wrist where the bite wounds began to seal up and braced himself for what he was about to do. He bit into his wrist and ripped the skin, causing the blood to freely gush out.

  He then shoved his wrist into Daniel’s mouth once again; pushing it in as far as he could, hoping the blood would flow into his throat. Since Daniel was lying flat on the floor, the lifesaving liquid was just pooling in his mouth. Zachariah frantically got behind him and lifted him up, holding his body upright. For the first time in centuries, Zachariah was shaking with fear, something he had never done as a vampire.

  “Please, please no!” He sobbed uncontrollably, feeling as though he was in the middle of a nightmare. “Oh God, please no! Don’t take him,” he prayed out loud as he heard Daniel’s heartbeats becoming irregular and faint. He was clutching Daniel’s hair with his left hand, holding his head upright. He continued to force his right wrist into Daniel’s mouth, but was careful not to use too much strength. In the emotional state that he was in, he was afraid he might crush him.