The Living Weapon (Davenport Manor Book 2)

by Melissa Zaroski

  Kelly stood in the same spot, shell-shocked from what she had just witnessed. Through her fear, she admired Todd’s bravery for taking the initiative against Declan. During that moment, Todd seemed completely fearless, which told her a lot about his character. He was willing to put himself in danger and go up against a very old, strong vampire to keep others safe.

  “I’m so sorry, Todd. I was completely useless tonight,” Kelly said through her tears.

  He looked up at her with gentle eyes and replied, “That’s okay, love, you only got thrown into this world a few days ago. No one expected you to be an instant warrior through all this. It’s over now and we are safe…for now.”

  Kelly was glad that Todd wasn’t holding a grudge due to her inactivity. She had wanted so badly to impress him and show him that she could have been fearless, but it would’ve been a lie. She wasn’t cut out to be Rambo; she was just a regular girl from the suburbs who, last week, lived a pretty ordinary life. She wasn’t opposed to being a part of the supernatural world, but she wasn’t quite ready to be in the middle of a vampire war.

  Franklin snapped his head when he heard a sound downstairs, crouching down and preparing for yet another attack. However, with all of the enemies dead, it left just the “good guys” that were coming in. The vampires downstairs followed the scents going to the second floor and ran at top speed to where the battle ended. The six of them appeared before them, gasping at the site of Mackenzie and Declan on the floor. All were speechless and horrified. Aidan slowly walked up to Mackenzie’s body and dropped down to his knees, bowing his head in sadness.

  All eyes were on him as he silently grieved, kneeling as still as a statue next to Mackenzie. He could no longer be the tough guy, the strong one, and his emotions got the best of him. He screamed a heartbreaking wail as he reached out and touched her face, cradling her head in his hand. He sobbed, muttering words in Gaelic that none of the others could understand. He caressed her cheek and spoke sweetly, as if she were a sleeping child. Blood tears poured down his cheeks, dripping uncontrollably off of his face and onto Mackenzie. He leaned down and buried his face in her chest; his cries were muffled as he tightly gripped her shirt, which was becoming stained by his tears.

  He sat back up and ran his fingers through her hair, continuing to speak softly to her, “My darling girl…I’m so sorry that I couldn’t help you. You have been my best friend and the best partner I ever could have asked for in my reign as the King of Europe. I will miss you my darling.”

  His heartfelt words to his beloved second-in-command caused the others to choke up; each of them shedding tears with him over their lost comrade. Emma approached him, kneeling down next to him, and placing her arm around him and comfort. Cassie slowly joined them, sitting on his opposite side and rubbing his back. One-by-one the Royals knelt down and surrounded Mackenzie, each paying their respects. Todd stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to join them, reaching his hand out toward Kelly, inviting her to kneel down next to him. All twelve of them formed a complete circle of love around her, each of them grieving over their lost friend, acquaintance, lover, and partner.

  “Aidan, would you like me to call Patricia Miller and get a casket from her so we can bury Mackenzie properly in my family cemetery?” Emma gently asked.

  Aidan, who was still too choked up to answer coherently, simply nodded while squeezing his eyes closed.

  “What happened?” Cassie quietly asked.

  Todd and Kelly allowed Franklin to respond, “Declan must have been hiding up in the beams of the ceiling above us. Todd and I thought he had gone into Emma’s room, so while we were searching in there, Declan jumped down on top of her. He was behind her and caused her to pop the blood balloon in her hand, and then pushed her hand to her face. It all happened in the matter of a second and I’m sorry that none of us had enough time to react.”

  “I’m so sorry, Aidan. I wish we could have moved faster,” Kelly added.

  Aidan nodded, understanding that there was nothing that they could have done to try and stop him. He knew Declan well; he was one thousand years old, extremely fast, and was nearly as strong as he was. Aidan himself had a hard time fighting Declan in the driveway before, giving him a run for his money when he slipped from his grip and ran off into the woods.

  Zachariah suddenly snapped to attention when he realized that he had yet to go get Daniel, who was still hidden in the secret room above Emma’s parents’ bedroom. “Oh my gosh, Daniel is still upstairs! I’ll be right back!” Zachariah ran into the bedroom, pulled the perfume bottle to unlock the door, and ran up the narrow staircase to find Daniel sleeping in an old chair. He still had a blood balloon gripped in his hand during his slumber.

  Zachariah stayed back and just used his voice to wake him, not wanting to startle him and get accidentally killed. “Daniel? Hey buddy, wake up! It’s over, we won!”

  Daniel’s eyes blinked open and he was startled for a moment, not remembering where he was. Once he focused on Zachariah, he croaked, “You guys won? That’s awesome!”

  A somber look spread across Zachariah’s face as he added, “We lost Mackenzie though. She made it all the way until the very end, but Declan was too strong for her.”

  Daniel stood up and stretched, feeling slightly woozy from the day’s events. He lost his balance for a moment, but caught himself before he tipped over.

  “You okay?” Zachariah asked.

  “Yeah, I just feel kind of off and out of sorts. Probably from the crazy day,” Daniel replied while rubbing his face awake. “I’ll have to take a Tylenol for the headache I have.”

  “Well, come on downstairs. I know Emma is going to be really glad to see you, especially since the last time she saw you your neck was sliced open,” Zachariah said while taking him by the shoulder.

  They went down the stairs single file since that was the only way they would fit. As they entered the hallway, Aidan was just picking up Mackenzie’s body to move her to a more suitable place. Emma was on the phone with Patricia Miller and ordering two caskets to be delivered to the Manor. She explained everything that had happened since they last saw each other when they visited the funeral home. Patricia told her that she would have Allison deliver them within the hour. When Emma saw Daniel standing in the hallway, she cut her conversation with Patricia short so she could hug her brother tightly.

  “I am so glad to see you alive!” Emma exclaimed while gripping him tightly, never wanting to let go. “Why don’t you go in your room for a bit while we clean up the foyer? It’s kind of a mess down there.” Emma made a face of disgust when thinking about all the dead vampires lying around her beautiful house.

  Daniel was more than happy to go sit in his room instead of seeing the massacre that had taken place downstairs. He knew the vampires would have that cleaned up in no time—at least he hoped so since his stomach was loudly growling.

  Emma looked back at him and giggled, “We’ll fix you something to eat, too!” She turned to Todd and Kelly and asked, “Would you two mind hanging with him while we deal with the dirty work? I really don’t want him to be alone right now.”

  The three of them walked toward Daniel’s room as Zachariah lifted Declan to be carried downstairs. He was riddled with a roller coaster of emotions; he was glad to have defeated Declan, but at the same time he mourned the loss of his friend that he carried in his arms. Aidan had already carried Mackenzie downstairs and placed her body on the floor of the parlor while they waited for the casket to arrive. Emma realized that she needed to call Vivienne and let her know what had happened. She was fearful that Vivienne would forever hold a grudge against them for killing her maker and true love. She was still undecided if she would tell Vivienne who actually killed Declan or if she would lie and say it was she who did it. However, Emma didn’t like to lie and she always felt the truth was the best way to go. Vivienne would have to understand that it had to be done and that if it wasn’t Todd who did it, it would have been someone else.

&nb
sp; She pulled out her phone and used her speed dial to call Vivienne, closing her eyes with dread. When Vivienne answered, Emma didn’t beat around the bush and promptly told her everything that had been taking place during the past few weeks. She explained how Declan was the one who stole Todd, and how he had planned to kill all of the Royals and take over power. She told her about the war that had just taken place at the Manor and that the only casualty on their side was Mackenzie.

  Vivienne was understandably distraught and could be heard wailing on the phone. Emma felt horrible that she wasn’t there to hug her in person and comfort her, quickly regretting telling her the news over the phone. However, through Vivienne’s grief, she wasn’t surprised. She had explained how Declan had been acting oddly ever since the premiere; often distant and with his mind somewhere else. She swore up and down to Emma that she had no idea what he was up to, afraid that Emma would think that she was in on it. Emma, of course, believed her and knew her best friend wouldn’t have deceived her that way.

  “We’re going to have to do a press release,” Vivienne choked through her tears.

  Emma had momentarily forgotten that Declan was a celebrity; known for gracing theater screens worldwide. He had a legion of fans that would be no doubt distraught.

  “If we tell the world that he died, that would cause too much trouble,” Vivienne started. “I think the best way to go is to say that he is taking a break from Hollywood and went back to his roots in Ireland.” She broke down in tears once again as she thought about the fact that Declan was gone. It hurt worse knowing that he died while deceiving his closest friends.

  “We can do that,” Emma replied. “I hate that you are out there alone, why don’t you come out to Chicago for a while and be surrounded by friends?”

  Vivienne thought about it for a moment and replied, “I don’t think I can do that just yet. Just knowing that Declan was killed in the house is too painful for me to be around right now.”

  “Do you want me to come out to L.A.?” Emma sympathized.

  “No, I will be okay. I will come out to Chicago once I am over the shock.” Vivienne replied. The truth was it was going to be hard to look at Emma after all that had happened. Emma’s face would be a reminder of Declan’s deceit that cost him his life.

  “Well, if you need me, just say the word and I will be there,” Emma stated. She felt horrible that she wasn’t there for her best friend in what was probably the worst time in her life.

  After finally hanging up with Vivienne, Emma helped the others clear the bodies that were scattered around the foyer and driveway. They had planned to take them all out to the very far edge of the woods and bury them all there, except Declan. Even though he had betrayed them, they were far better people than he ever was and decided to bury him properly in a far corner of the cemetery. They also felt that they owed it to their friend Vivienne; she needed to have a grave to visit while mourning the loss of her maker and boyfriend. Even though Declan had deceived them, they wanted to do right by Vivienne.

  It didn’t take too long for them to clean everything up with ten vampires all working at top speed. In a short amount of time the house looked as though nothing had happened that day. Emma went into the kitchen and opened the freezer to find some frozen dinners to pop in the microwave for the humans in the house. While those were heating up, she took out ten glasses and poured blood for the vampires. After the day they had, they deserved a drink.

  After she served the vampires, she and Zachariah carried the little dinner trays upstairs for the three humans that waited in Daniel’s room. She lightly knocked on the door and pushed it open with her hip. She handed them each a tray and asked if Kelly and Todd wouldn’t mind leaving them to talk to Daniel alone. She wanted to find out what had happened and how Daniel came to be with Declan that day. They obliged and moved to Todd’s room to have dinner there together.

  “So, how are you doing? Are you okay?” Emma asked.

  “I’m okay, I just feel kind of off. You know, getting my neck sliced open probably took a slight toll on me!” Daniel chuckled as he took a bite of his food.

  “So what happened? How did you end up with Declan?” Zachariah asked.

  “Well, I was at home at my condo just sitting there watching TV. There was a knock at the door and I stupidly opened it without looking through the peephole. Declan was standing there and I tried to shut the door, but he shoved it open and I remember him charming me,” Daniel explained in between bites. “He told me that I was going with them and we would have to take my car. He hid in the back seat when we approach the guard shack, but he had already charmed me to tell the guard to let in my ‘friends’ that were following behind me. I’m so sorry, the only reason they got in was because of me.”

  “We don’t blame you, sweetie,” Emma said as she moved over to sit by him. “I know you wouldn’t have done that to us…although…maybe next time look through the peephole, yeah?”

  Daniel snickered, “Yeah, I think I learned my lesson with that one!”

  Meanwhile, Kelly and Todd sat down on his couch next to each other to settle in for their TV dinner. He clicked on the television to no channel in particular just to have background noise while they ate dinner together.

  “I hope you’re not too upset with me for today,” Kelly said. “Here I volunteered to stay and help and I basically did nothing but run away and cry.” She was so mortified by her behavior.

  “No one can blame you, but in all fairness you weren’t a chicken the entire time!” He assured her. “I do recall you saving my ass out in the driveway!”

  Kelly raised her head with pride and beamed, “Yeah…I did, didn’t I?”She lifted her glass and toasted her moment of bravery.

  Todd chuckled and clinked his glass with hers. “So, now that all this drama is over, when would you like to go out on that date?”

  Kelly’s stomach flip-flopped when he said those words to her; words that she had been longing to hear for the past couple of weeks. After meeting Todd and connecting with him at the premiere, she had kicked herself for so long about not exchanging numbers with him. She never thought she would find herself in this position; sitting in his room, eating a TV dinner, and discussing going on a date together.

  “I can’t wait to go on a date with you! I have wanted that for the past couple of weeks and didn’t think I would ever see you again after the premiere. I kicked myself for not giving you my phone number since I felt such a connection with you; I felt like I had known you for years,” she replied with a smile. “I was planning to go home and start packing this week and start moving my things in. How about we go out once I settle in?”

  “That sounds like a plan to me,” Todd replied.

  He wasn’t sure if he was fully ready to move on from Emma, but he knew he would have to take the plunge sometime. He really liked Kelly and had a spectacular time getting to know her at the premiere. He knew that starting a relationship with her would help him get over Emma faster. Otherwise, what else would he be doing? Hanging around the house, living under the same roof as Emma, and obsessing over her. Kelly was cute, sweet, and an outgoing girl—what wasn’t there to like? And, she was a living weapon just like him, which was a cherry on top.

  He wouldn’t miss having to be so careful with Emma; always afraid that somehow, someway she would accidentally ingest a drop of his blood and he would have the guilt of killing her. However, she was a part of him. She opened his eyes to a world he would’ve never believed existed. It wasn’t always good, but it sure made for an interesting life for him. He adored her and always would, as if she had slipped him a love potion the minute he met her. She was fiercely protective of those she loved and was, in his eyes, an immortal angel. He never saw her as a predator, the world’s most dangerous being on earth.

  He shook Emma from his mind as he was spending time getting to know the adorable redhead next to him. He could already tell that she didn’t have a domineering personality and was actually quite timid. This would be
something he would have to get used to. Dating a vampire changes a person; it’s not something that happens every day and he always felt quite proud that she was his. Kelly had large shoes to fill, but he tried to remind himself that he shouldn’t compare Emma and Kelly. Not only were they two different girls, but they were two different species entirely.

  “So, do you want to hang out with me in here for a while and chat?” Todd asked as he finished up eating. “I could light a fire, go grab a bottle of wine, and we could finally get to know each other without being surrounded by chaos.”

  Kelly placed her fork and knife on her empty tray, tucked a leg underneath her and turned toward him, and replied, “I would like nothing more after the day that we have had. But, I think you and I both need a shower because we’re kind of filthy!”

  Todd raised an eyebrow.

  But, before his mind could wander to the gutter, Kelly added with a laugh, “Separately! And how about we meet up in here afterward?”

  Todd locked his eyes with hers and softly replied, “Sounds like a plan, love.”

  After Kelly was done showering, she changed into her borrowed pajamas and checked herself out in the mirror. She wanted to look good for Todd, but didn’t want to look as though she put too much effort into it since it was so late at night. She put on a tiny bit of mascara and some strawberry lip gloss, looking as natural as possible without covering the freckles that scattered about her cheeks and nose. She debated on blow drying her hair, but decided that she would leave it wet and let her waves naturally dry. She slathered on some sweetly-scented body lotion, which left her feeling fresh and clean. She took one final glance in the mirror and flashed herself a smile, feeling confident that she looked cute.

  She left her room and strolled to his door and lightly knocked on it. She heard his bare feet lightly slapping against the wooden floor as he came to the door to let her in. He had the same idea as she did apparently; he was in his flannel, plaid pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, leaving his hair wet as well. Smelled like a freshly cleaned man, which was intoxicating to her. He wasn’t overdone, but still looked gorgeous and relaxed.