Blood Guard

by Erickson, Megan

  I always wanted a brother or sister. “Well, there’s still time. And I’ll be there. I’ll help. I’ll schedule game nights.”

  He barked out a laugh. “Game nights?”

  “Yeah! Game nights. Uno, Cards Against Humanity. It’ll be fun! I’ll help you guys be closer again.” I would need something to do other than be a blood donor.

  Athan was looking at me like that again, with thinly veiled affection. The flames flickered in his dark eyes, and I didn’t want to look away. My mind and body hadn’t forgotten the way he touched me, the things he said to me. While we walked, I’d played that moment over and over again in my head. Had that just been a part of the job to him? Ease the ache? But then…why the dirty talk? “So, about what happened yesterday…”

  He cleared his throat, his body immediately stiffening. “I need to apologize.”

  Oh, great. Should have seen this coming.

  “I didn’t know what else to do to help you, but I took it too far, and said things that I—”

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t mean them.” I jumped to my feet and rounded on him. “I’m sure you feel guilty, and I’m sure I should probably feel guilty but I know next to nothing about Idris. So my guilt is at maybe point five on a scale of one to one hundred. But we were both there. We both agreed for it to happen. And it did. So I don’t want you to start apologizing or saying you regret it, because I’ll be resentful, and I need to trust you. Okay?”

  Athan blinked up at me, his mouth gaping open. Finally, he shut it, and rose to his feet gracefully. He stood before me, studying my face. He cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of my lips. “Fine, I don’t regret it, and I won’t apologize. But…we both know it can’t happen again.”

  I swallowed, wondering how the hell I was going to deal with my future, when the man I could see myself with was the man I wasn’t meant to have. “If Idris wasn’t—”

  “Don’t make me answer that.” His voice was firm, but kind. “You made your request, and this is mine. Don’t make me answer that.”

  I nodded, the heat of his palm spreading down my neck. “That’s fair.”

  He patted my cheek, then dropped his hand. “I think so, too.” He walked over to the entrance and peered outside. “Sun is setting. Maybe another half hour, then we can get moving again.”

  “Okay, I wish I could get clean somehow but…” I pulled my hair back with a hair tie and glanced down at my dusty clothes. “Oh, well.”

  “There’ll be some streams you can wash up in. How’s that? We have another night or two before we make it to the compound.”

  “That’d be great.” I appreciated him not calling me a princess again.

  By the time we put out the fire and cleaned up after ourselves—“Leave no trace!” Athan muttered repeatedly—the sun had set, and once again, we were off.

  I ignored the blisters on my feet, and my aching muscles, and I followed my vampire bodyguard through the dark woods.

  Athan

  I never in my life thought I’d sit in a cave with our Sanguivita talking to her about my family and my insecurities which I’d always kept secret.

  Of course, she wasn’t the Sanguivita to me. She was Tendra. With the big cat and the smart mouth. The one who found the courage to run away from Quellen, and fulfill her duty.

  I needed to focus. Brooding over her and how I felt wasn’t going to keep us alive.

  “What was your training like as a baby vamp?” Tendra asked in a low voice as we made our way around the edges of a large clearing. I scanned the trees and inhaled deeply. I didn’t smell any Quellen.

  “As far back as I can remember, I was told my role. As the youngest son of this generation, I would be the blood guard. Once the Sanguivita came of age, I’d protect her.”

  A branch cracked under my boot, startling Ten, who gripped my hand and laced our fingers together. My entire arm warmed.

  “So what kind of training did you do?”

  “Mostly fight training. Bullets do nothing to vampires—”

  “I heard silver—”

  “No.” I laughed softly. “Silver bullets don’t matter.”

  “So how do you kill vampires?”

  “The only way to kill a vampire is to sever their heads from their bodies, or cut them so deep, their blood drains before they can heal. Usually a deep slice to the neck does the trick.”

  “Ew.” The look of pure disgust on her face made me laugh again.

  “It’s the truth.” There were also rumors that the Valarians were developing a type of metal that would burn our skin and that our bodies couldn’t heal. But we weren’t sure if there was truth to those rumors, and I wasn’t about to bring that up now and worry her.

  She huffed. “So tell me more about your training.”

  “I learned how to use pretty much anything as a weapon. I’m skilled in hand-to-hand combat. I know how to smell our enemies from miles away, and I’m trained to protect with my life if I have to.”

  “Did you also learn school stuff, like math and science?”

  “I learned basics, yes, although most everything was somehow tied to skills as a blood guard.”

  She whistled a low tone. “I see.”

  “You were brought up to fight, too.”

  “I was but…I didn’t know the purpose, other than to protect myself.”

  “That was the purpose,” I said. “To protect yourself.”

  She nibbled her lip and stared at her feet as we walked. “Yeah, you’re right. Although I thought I’d be fighting off some horny drunk. Not vampires. Or vampire assassins.”

  Brex trotted ahead of us, the moonlight catching off the light strands in his fur. I was interested in his ability to detect the enemy. Was that just instinct? Was he some sort of cat bred by vampires? Either way, he was special and was hands down responsible for Ten still being alive.

  Of course, he hadn’t loved me at all when I’d first seen him. Probably accurate since my showing up hadn’t meant great things for Ten’s future.

  “I thought you might not show up,” I blurted out.

  Ten’s head whipped to face me, her dark hair catching on her lower lip. “What?”

  “I told myself if you didn’t show up at dusk, I’d still find you to make sure you were alive.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Well, then what? If you found me, and I’d decided fuck it. Fuck the human race, I’m going to live on a beach in Barbados until we’re all zombies drained of blood. What would you have done?”

  I answered as honestly as I could. “I don’t know.”

  Her eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Well, I could leave you there, or I could try to talk you into coming with me again, or I could bring you by force. I’m not sure which I’d choose.”

  She stopped and rounded on me, still clutching my hand. “You’re telling the truth, aren’t you? You really wouldn’t automatically drag me back. You’d have to decide and it wouldn’t be an easy choice. That’s what you’re telling me.”

  I stared into her eyes and answered honestly. “Yes.”

  She studied my face. “I believe you.”

  “You should.”

  “But why?”

  “Why not treat you like a blood bank for Idris?”

  She swallowed. “Yeah.”

  “Because that’s not how I see you. Is that how most vampires in our clan do? Sure, and I’m sorry for that. I did, too, before I met you. But I don’t see you like that now.”

  Her lip trembled, and she let go of my hand only to wrap her arms around me. Against me, she mumbled, “Please don’t leave me in that place. Promise me you’ll still be around, to remind me that I’m more than the Sanguivita.”

  I placed my hand on the back of her neck and dropped a kiss on her head. “I promise, Ten. I’ll be there.”

  She pulled back and dipped her head as she swiped her eyes. Then, with a wobbly smile, she grabbed my hand and we kept walking.


  I was happy with the time we were making, so when Ten asked to wash up in a small stream we crossed, I said okay.

  I leaned against a tree and ran my hands down over my face, doing my best to ignore the cramping in my gut, the dizziness as I walked. Fucking hunger pangs. I had to power through, though. I’d be okay as long as we stayed on schedule. If we were delayed…I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it. Fuck.

  As Ten approached the edge of the stream, I realized I hadn’t thought this through. I didn’t know she’d be stripping down to nothing and wading into the stream. Her pale skin shone in the moonlight, her heart-shaped ass so goddamn perfect, I couldn’t look away. She’d pulled her hair back, but some strands curled around her neck. She dipped into the water up to her waist, then looked at me over her bare shoulder. “I thought you’d turn away.”

  I sat down on the bank and chewed on a piece of grass. “I have to watch you. That’s my job, after all.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “Just your job, huh?”

  “Yep.” The flirting in her tone was making me hard. Still, I didn’t look away, not while water dripped down those bare arms. I cocked my head. “You want me to turn away?”

  She shook her head. “No. Makes me feel safe when you watch me.” As she faced away from me again, I heard her mutter, “Makes me feel other things, too.”

  “I have good hearing, you know,” I called to her.

  Her laugh rang out in the stillness of the night. “I know that.”

  Fuck it. I stripped down, too, as she sloughed water over her skin, and I splashed in behind her. She whirled around, sinking below the surface so only the tops of her full breasts showed.

  The cool water woke up my body a bit, and even though I was hungry, I had to admit it felt good to clean up. Ten grinned at me, and I wished I had the freedom to grab her and pull her close, to suck on those full lips, to reach between her legs and listen to her come again.

  I hadn’t ever coveted much in life for myself, but I sure as hell coveted Tendra Parrish.

  The aching in my gut grew stronger, and I rose to my feet in front of her, not worrying about covering myself. Her eyes widened as they took in my body. “Time to go, Ten.”

  I splashed to the shore and began to dress. When I was finished, I turned around to see Tendra stepping into her underwear. She covered her ass, then those perfect breasts with a black lace bra. Every bit of skin she covered, I mourned. But I also thanked her, because the temptation of her was too much, especially when she flirted back. When she was completely dressed, she turned to me. “All right, I’m ready.”

  I began to walk, and soon the sound of her footsteps followed me. Once we were walking again, she said, “Thanks for that. I feel better. Do you?”

  “Sure,” I answered. I brushed my hair off my forehead and blew out a breath.

  “Are you feeling okay?” she asked.

  “Why?”

  “You seem a little off? Your color, too.”

  “I need to feed,” I said bluntly, the willpower it took to control the hunger pangs and my hunger for Ten zapping my energy. “I’ll be okay as long as we don’t meet any delays.”

  “What happens if we do?”

  “I’ll have to call Idris. We’ll need help and backup.” Hopefully he had the problem back at home taken care of.

  She blinked at me, her expression tensing with panic. “Athan—”

  “It’s okay.” I squeezed the back of her neck, cursing myself for worrying her. “We’ll get there, all right?”

  She didn’t look convinced, but dipped her head. “Okay.”

  I gripped her hand and we continued on.

  Chapter 13

  Tendra

  Athan was stumbling.

  He was covering it, but his hands trembled slightly, and his dark eyes were duller. He needed to feed. Every so often, he pulled a thermos out of our bag and drank deeply, but the days-old blood inside only temporarily restored his senses.

  Brex sensed my worry, because he kept glancing back at us, then trotting on ahead. Athan murmured every once in a while, promising me we only had two more days of travel, and then we’d be there. That he was fine, that he could hang on.

  I wasn’t so sure.

  The idea of something happening to Athan terrified me in two ways. First, then I’d be alone. And while I’d been lucky to get away from the Quellen once, out here I was fucked. Plain and simple. There’d be no getting away. And second, Athan couldn’t leave me. He just couldn’t. I’d had no father figure and there hadn’t been that many great men in my personal life. Athan was different, and not just because he was a vampire. His soul was good and kind. If he’d been destined as the future of the Gregorie clan, then the human race just might be okay. I hoped Idris possessed a soul as good as Athan’s.

  I tried to imagine another vampire like Athan. Did he have long hair? Was he bearded or did he keep a five o’clock shadow like Athan? I couldn’t imagine he’d treat me as well as Athan had. I could only hope he’d care enough to get to know me. I could be charming if I tried.

  I turned to Athan to ask about his brother when Brex froze ahead of us at the exact same time Athan’s hand went up, signaling me to stop. I halted and didn’t move a muscle. Hell, I tried not to breathe. Brex was a statue—ears flat against his head, tail down.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Athan’s nostrils flaring. His tongue crept out to lick his fangs, and then I was airborne.

  The wind rushed past my face as Athan ran, carrying me under one arm, Brex under the other. And by run, I meant his feet were a blur, barely touching the ground. I’d forgotten how fast he could move, because he didn’t do it much around me. I worried how much of a toll this was taking on his already weakened body, but I didn’t have time to dwell. His arm was digging painfully into my ribs, and it was hard to breathe, but I could smell them.

  Quellen.

  I didn’t know where we were running, or what we were running to. All I knew was that we were being hunted. I managed to glance up and through watery eyes, I spied a rock wall. I hoped like hell there was a port there. Something crashed above us and the stench intensified as a dark form dropped to the ground in front of us with a hiss. The Quellen stood between us and the refuge of the rock.

  Athan skidded to a halt, tossed me and Brex in front of a large tree, then faced off against the advancing Quellen. I plastered myself against the large trunk, Brex cradled in my arms, and listened for more of these assassin fuckers. Despite this being my third run-in with them, I hadn’t ever really seen one. The Quellen’s pale face was twisted into a grimace, his massive gray fangs extended over his lower lip. He wore all black, and no shoes, his bony feet capped with long toenails. Fuck, he was gross, but the very worst part about him by far were his milk-white eyes with only a small dot of black in the center. When those eyes shifted to me, a tremor ran through my body, and Brex growled long and low.

  Athan was a shield in front of us, a hulking vampire shield. He held out his arms at his sides, and in each hand was a jagged blade. I huddled against the trunk as four more Quellen dropped from the trees above to face Athan.

  Holy shit.

  It was five against one, but Athan was huge compared to them. They were all smaller, sub six-foot, and slim. But they were fast as shit, and I knew that from experience.

  This wasn’t a movie, and they didn’t come at him one at a time. With a garbled word from the first Quellen, they descended on him all at once like a dark cloud of death.

  I knew enough to keep my trap shut and let Athan do his job. They came at him with knives and punches and kicks. He dispatched one while taking a hit to the side. He moved quick, bouncing on the balls of his feet, never letting them get behind him. Never giving them access to me. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but they were mostly a blur. Every once in a while, I saw the flash of a blade, and a pained cry, and hoped to hell it was a Quellen.

  Three were at his feet now, and he was fighting off the last two, when Brex hissed
. A hand closed around my neck as Brex went into berserk mode, biting and scratching at the Quellen who’d snuck up behind me while Athan was busy.

  The Quellen was pulling me back into the woods, away from Athan. Terror seized me, rendering me paralyzed for a moment until survival instinct kicked in. I tugged on the hand squeezing my throat, but that sucker wasn’t budging. I managed to get my feet under me and stomp on his foot, but he didn’t cry out in pain. I slammed my elbow into his stomach. Not even a flinch. Did these fuckers feel pain like humans?

  He hissed in my ear, something that sounded like a cackle. Athan was calling my name, fighting his way through the last two Quellen to get to me. One jabbed him in the side, causing a sick sound of something hard slicing flesh. His eyes widened, his mouth opening in a silent scream of pain.

  And that fucking pissed me the hell off.

  With a holler, I braced my feet, crouched, and threw the Quellen forward onto the ground in front of me. As he fell on his back with a grunt, I took a split second to grin, because low center of gravity had always been my friend. I slipped my switchblade out of my pocket and sliced it across his neck.

  I didn’t bother to watch him die as I stepped over him while Athan rallied and dispatched the last two Quellen. We met halfway as the last of our enemies lay motionless behind him. “Ten,” he said breathlessly, grabbing me and running his hands over my body. “Are you okay? Hurt?”

  My neck hurt, and my heart was beating out of my chest, but I’d live. “I’m fine.” Athan on the other hand was holding his body funny, his left shoulder sloped down. “You?”

  “I’m—” His voice cut out as his head went up, his chest swelling as he inhaled. And then I heard it, the distant sound of something in the trees above us. “Fuck,” he said. “More of the fuckers.”

  Once again he picked up Brex and me and made another mad dash, this time running along the rock wall until we came to an area with a smooth rock surface. He held out his wrist and a port appeared. After we leaped inside, it closed quickly behind us.