In between practices, Matt and I met with Missy to go over the party details. And in between all of that, he and I made time for each other, with Matt continuing to amaze me with his seemingly endless supply of new ways to excite and totally satisfy me.
The night before the party, I was snuggling with Matt, and again trying to catch my breath. “Honey?” I said.
“Mmmm?” he replied.
“I need you to be in our room at ten tomorrow morning, just for an hour or so, okay?” I said
I felt him tense up and I felt awful. I turned to meet his eyes. “I"m sorry honey,” I said. “I hate this just as much as you do, but you know it"s necessary.”
“I know,” he groaned.
“I"ll tell you what,” I said, “let me see if Carlos can handle this part alone. If he can, I"ll stay in here with you, sound good?”
“If you promise to keep me busy, it sounds great,” he grinned.
I put my head down on his chest and started thinking about tomorrow. “Are you nervous?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “I remember all too well what happened to you the last time you fought her. I almost lost you. Now I have to be ready for a fight that I can"t prepare for, because I could be the one to hurt you, so yes, I"m nervous and terrified about tomorrow.”
“Me too,” I whispered.
We lay like that for the rest of the night, both of us unable to sleep. Finally, when the clock clicked to four a.m., I decided that I had had enough worry. I quickly sat up. “Okay,” I said. “That"s it. I"m not doing this anymore.”
“What?” Matt said. “Not doing what?”
I looked at Matt. “Will you get him in here please?”
“Now? Sarah, honey, it"s four o"clock in the morning. He"s probably sleeping,” Matt said.
“No, he"s not,” I said. “He"s lying there awake and worrying just like us.”
“Then why don"t you get him?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “No, it has to be you,” I mumbled.
Matt stared at me for a second then closed his eyes. Just a few seconds later our door flew open. “What"s wrong!? Is she here now?” Carlos said, as his eyes darted around the room.
“Calm down, Carlos,” I said. “No, she"s not here. Sit down, okay?”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly, as he eyed me.
“Look,” I said, “there is too much of this brooding crap going on. Today used to be my birthday, today is now my wedding anniversary. It"s supposed to be a happy day, but instead we"re all sitting around worrying. You two are going to stop that right now. Because what I really want to know right now, right this second, is what are we going to do tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” they both said.
“Yes, tomorrow,” I said. “After we"ve beaten her. What fun, outrageous things are we going to do together tomorrow? What are we going to do that"s going to make me laugh my ass off? Because, what I really need right now is to laugh until it hurts. Things have been way too serious and tense lately and I don"t like it.”
Matt and Carlos looked at each other and Matt nodded to him slightly. It was Carlos who spoke first, “Well, actually Sarah, I"m leaving.”
“What?” I gasped as I frantically looked at the two of them. Now it was my turn to panic. “You can"t leave me, I mean you can"t leave yet, Carlos. You just can"t. Are you trying to make me cry? You are not leaving,so do not tell me that.”
Matt put his arm around me. “Relax honey, it"s only for a few days. And we"re going to meet up with him, ummm, somewhere. It"s just that he needs to go ahead of us to get everything ready.”
“Oh,” I said as I took a deep breath. “Go where? To get ready for what?”
“That, my dear,” Matt said as he tightened his arms around me, “you do not get to know yet.” Then he playfully kissed my cheek.
I turned and glared at him. “I"m not sure I"m liking this,” I said.
“Oh you will,” Carlos said.
“Well, will it be fun? Will I be laughing?” I said.
“Fun, exciting, surprising, and everything else,” Matt said.
“And we"ll all be together?” I said before I could stop myself. I saw Carlos smile as he looked away.
“Yes, we"ll all be together. Most of the time anyways. I would like you all to myself in the bedroom, if that"s not too much to ask,” Matt said, smiling.
“Well, duh. Of course it will just be you and I in the bedroom,” I said as Carlos and I stole a quick glance at each other. “If you tell me we"re all going to be together then I suppose I can live with your secrecy and surprise. But not for long. You know how I hate to be the last one to know something, Matt. Thisis going to eat me up inside.”
Carlos looked at Matt. “You know she"s going to try to get it out of you.”
Matt grinned. “I sure as hellhope so.”
We spent the rest of the morning talking, laughing and just enjoying being three best friends again. We all headed to the kitchen at nine-thirty and grabbed a big breakfast– five pints each in order to be at our strongest. “Hey, Carlos, can you handle the ten o"clock appointment by yourself?” I said.
“The ten? Oh, that one. Sure. Why? Do you have something else to do?” he said.
“Not exactly,” I said as I looked at Matt. “I just feel bad that Matt keeps getting left out of everything, so I wanted to stay with him.”
“Oh, okay,” he said as he stood up from the table. “I guess I better go get dressed then.” He headed out into the hall, glancing back at me once and smiling sadly just before he headed out the door.
“Did Trevor paint the numbers on the walls for the dancing game?” I called to Carlos, who flashed me a thumbs up as he went out.
“The dancing game?” Matt said.
“You"ll see,” I said as I patted his leg. “Now,” I stood and held out my hand, “I believe it"s time for me to keep you busy.”
We finally emerged from our room at twelve-thirty– a full thirty minutes before the party was set to begin. We walked down the hall and turned into the kitchen. Carlos was waiting for us there and he stood as we got close. With Matt on my left, Carlos on my right and my hands clasped in both of theirs, I looked straight ahead. “Ready?” I said.
“Ready,” they both said. The three of us walked forward and through the doors into the main hall.
Chapter Thirteen
“Sarah!” Missy cried . “You guys are early.” “I know. I thought you might need some help setting up,” I said, as I looked around the room. We weren"t the only early arrivers. Stacy, Rashidi, Maggie, Jared, Bahiti, Billy, Trevor and Anne were all here too, ready and waiting. I smiled at them.
“Everything"s all ready,” Missy said. “I don"t want you guys doing anything todaybut having fun.”
The three of us looked at each other, wishing that fun was all we were going to have, but we all knew that there was going to be much more than fun, a lot more. The crowd quickly grew, and you could tell that everyone was more than ready to have a good time. The music started up and folks started dancing in the middle of the room. There was a lot of laughter and most were having a great time, most but not all. I sat between Matt and Carlos, partially hidden, so that others wouldn"t notice my changed eyes as I scanned the room. They watched me and waited, and so did the others. They were spread throughout the room, pretending to be in conversations, but their eyes were trained on me and only me– the six who were ready to fight and the other six (Johnny, Mark, Simone, Cara, Hector and Suzanne) who were ready to close the doors from the outside and lock us all in as soon as I gave the word.
Thirty minutes after the party started I was beginning to get worried. I was beginning to think that she might not show, or that she would but that we had figured everythingwrong. “Carlos?” I said.
“Yes, Sarah? What is it? Is she here?”
I shook my head. “No. Ramon is still in custody, right? Were you ever able to get anything out of him? Anything at all?”
“No, nothing. Not a goddamned thing. Why?”
“Maybe we figured it wrong. Maybe she"s not coming at all tonight. Maybe she"s, maybe she"s, hell, where the hell is she?” I said.
“Relax, Sarah. She"s coming. You know she is. She"s probably just waiting until the party is in full swing, hoping that everyone will be distracted,” Carlos said.
“He"s right, honey. Here, dance with me,” Matt said as he stood up.
“But, Matt. I need to stay up here on the platform so I can see the entire room,” I said.
“So? Dance with me up here then,” he said as he pulled me to my feet, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me tight. My breath caught in my chest as I looked at him.
“I love you so much,” I whispered, trying so hard to quell the guilty feelings that threatened to overwhelm me when I spotted Carlos out of the corner of my eye. This man, right here, in my arms. This man who loved me with all of his beautiful heart. Who always makes me smile. Who makes me feel desired every minute of every day. Who I love with all my heart. Who I want more and more each time I look at him. Who makes me feel complete. This man is it. He"s all I need. There is nothing lacking in our relationship. Yet, why was I feeling this attraction to another? pull toward Carlos? Why this incredibly strong His best friend. My best friend. There is definitely something wrong with me, because it sure wasn"t something that Matt was doing or not doing that was leading me to Carlos. This was me, all me. I am seriously fucked up.
“I love you too, honey. Now, here. Look over my shoulder,” he said. And I did. I rested my chin on his shoulder, and looked directly at Carlos. Yep, seriously fucked up.
“Shit,” I muttered as I squeezed my eyes shut for a second.
“What? Is she here?” Matt whispered as every muscle in his body went tense.
“Sorry, no. I"m just really on edge right now. It"s wigging me out,” I whispered.
“I know, hun. I am too. I feel completely blind here, and totally unprepared,” he said.
“I know sweetheart. And I"m so sorry. Damn it, I"m so fucking sorry,” I sobbed. I wasn"t only apologizing for keeping him in the dark. I was trying to apologize for everything. And he knew it.
His hands gently cradled my face as he locked his eyes with mine. “I know, Sarah. I know.” Then his mouth closed on mine and the room went silent for a moment as he kissed me. Not now, my mind screamed at me. Not now, we"ve got work to do. I can"t get distracted now. Everyone was counting on me. I opened my eyes and peaked around the room. Everything looked completely normal. Suddenly something caught my eye from the back of the room.
‘She’s here,’ I thought to both of them.
‘Where?’ they thought.
‘Back of the room, left door,’ I thought.
Carlos stood up and clapped his hands a few times. “Everybody,” he called as Missy stopped the music, “can I please have your attention? It"s time for the dancing game. Come on, it"ll be fun. Grab your partner and please move around to the edges of the room.”
I knew that meant that the six trained fighters were still in the center of the room and the six guards were now in place next to the doors.
‘How many?’ Carlos thought.
‘Ten so far, in two columns of five each. They’re stopped right behind Billy and Trevor. Can you let them know?’
‘Done,’ he thought and I saw Billy and Trevor grow tense as they waited for their signal. ‘How many now?’
‘Unless she’s got more waiting outside for some reason, thirty. We might have to pull the alarm a little sooner than we planned,’ I thought.
‘We’ll see. We want to avoid that as long as possible– it’ll make everybody slippery and tougher to grab. Where’s the bitch now?’ he thought, and I smiled at the sinister grin that seemed to be permanently embedded on his face right now.
I scanned the room, panicking for a second when I couldn"t find her. ‘I’m not sure. I can’t find, ah, got her,’ I thought,‘hovering near the ceiling at the top left corner. She’s watching us and oh God you should see the evil grin on her face. I can’t wait to beat it off of her.’
Carlos chuckled from his seat.
I watched as Malina slowly floated down to the middle of the room. I heard the screams begin as she materialized out of nowhere. “Well hello everyone. Hate what you"ve done with the place while I was gone, Sarah,” she said then she turned her wicked gaze to Matt. His hand squeezed mine so tight that I winced. I watched his face to try to see what his reaction would be.
“Matthew, dear lover, my oh my but I"ve missed you terribly,” she said as she seductively ran her finger down her chest between her breasts. The blush from embarrassment reached Matt"s cheeks instantly.
He squeezed his eyes shut and said through clenched teeth, “I hate her. I"m going to rip her head off for doingthis to us.”
I patted his arm. “Don"t honey. It"s okay,” I said then I turned back to Malina, who was now looking at me again.
“But I must confess that I"m devastated, Sarah,” she said over the muttering crowd, who was now slowly backing away from her. I retracted my fangs for a moment and stood, facing her with normal eyes.
“Oh, do tell, Malina,” I said as a lot of people headed for the exits, exactly what I was hoping she would allow to happen.
“I"m crushed that I wasn"t invited to your little farewell party,” she grinned.
“Maybe that"s because it isn"t a farewell party,” I said, then I grinned. “At least not for me.”
I saw the fury spark in her eyes. “That"s where you"re wrong, you insanely stupid bitch,” she hissed and raised her arm. She turned her head and I changed my eyes back. Her followers were all crouching, ready to spring.
“Doors,” I yelled, and the guards quickly ducked out and I heard the heavy bolts sliding into place. I linked with the ones who I could link with. ‘Billy, Trevor– you’re getting the first wave, turn around.’
Malina dropped her arm, yelled, “NOW! Crush them all. But leave the bitch for me.” As she disappeared above us, as all hell broke loose.
“Stacy! Six, Maggie, four, Jared, four, Rashi, eight,” I yelled, as my mind was working the others, ‘Carlos, two, Billy, twelve, Bahiti, seven, Anne, seven.’ Their blows all made contact, some effective, others not.
I yelled out numbers faster and faster, and I heard Matt pleadinglywhisper next to me, “I get it, let me help. Please, Sarah.”
“Go,” I said.
‘Carlos, three!’ I thought then I winced when the blow came down on his shoulder. ‘Sorry,’ I thought.
‘ Carlos, six, Billy, four.’
“Stacy, eight, Matt, six, Bahiti, up! Maggie,
two.”
‘Billy, seven, Carlos, nine.’
We were making progress, but we couldn"t stop
them completely. I had to be able to get into the
crowd to bite. I spotted Trevor closest to the wall,
fighting with his invisible foe. I heard the snap when
he connected perfectly with the invisible jaw,
snapping the young vampire"s neck around. “Now
Trevor!” I yelled. He looked at me then he quickly
spun around and pulled the fire alarm. Instantly the
sprinklers came on, raining down, not water, but
blood. The smell completely distracted her newer
vampires. And all of it covered them in red, red that
everyone could see. Red that wasn"t invisible even
though they were. I smiled at the shocked look on
Malina"s face as she hovered in her spot above it all.
I watched her glance up in horror at the steel plates
covering the skylight that she had used to escape last
time, and obviously was planning on using this time.
She"d be able to get through, but it would take her
some time, and that gave me some time. I flung myself into the crowd, landing on an invisible back and instantly severing the invisible spinal cord. I sprung to the one Stacy was fighting with a
nd killed
him, then I moved to the two Matt was fighting with. “Thanks, baby. God, I love watching you fight,”
he grinned.
Billy got a good grip on his invisible foe and
snapped its neck. I groaned when two go a hold of
Jared and killed him but then I pounced on them and
ended them. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Anne
crumpled on the floor and not moving. I jumped on
the one Maggie punched, broke his neck, then out of
anger, ripped off his head and threw it at Malina, who
was still invisible – or so she thought– in the top
corner of the ceiling above the sprinklers. She shot
toward the skylight, rammed it with her shoulder and
screamed when she realized that it wasn"t just steel
plates keeping her in. There were also bars over the
plates. We were down to seven, including Matt, and
Malina was down to eight.
“Can you handle the rest?” I called to Billy, and I
heard a crack as Matt snapped another neck. Good,
seven on seven, I thought.
“We got this, Sarah, go,” Billy called. Yeah,
easier said than done I thought. Then I didn"t think, I
just flew. I flew up and grabbed her ankle when she
was distracted. The shock on her face as she looked
down and realized that I could see her even though
she didn"t have any blood on her was priceless. “Always trying to run from a fight, Malina. You
big chicken shit,” I said then I spun around and flung
her head first into the wall, knocking a huge chunk of
stone down to the floor. Below me, Carlos started
rising up to help me, but Matt put his hand on his
shoulder, and stopped him.
“She"s okay right now, let her do this on her
own,” he said. Now, the only fight in the room was
between me and Malina. The others were all dead. “You fucking bitch. You ruined everything!”
Malina's Revenge Page 13