The Art of Death: Pittsburgh Vampires Vol. 11

by B. A. Stretke

  The call ended, and Nik turned to regard Josef. "Distribute the picture throughout the staff. Everyone needs to watch for him. I've sent it to Nathan in IT, he will test run it on the new facial recognition software that was recently installed. We'll see if he's already been inside."

  "We'll see if the Data One crew is actually worth the money you paid them. Their surveillance upgrades should ferret him out if he's inside or protect us from a breech if he's not." Josef said, but his mind was filled with the poor little man upstairs who just found his beloved. "We can't let anything happen to Simon." He added. "I can't even imagine how Killian would react if his beloved were hurt again."

  "I doubt he would survive if Simon were taken from him. Killian has been a dark and solitary man for all the years that I've known him. But to see him today with Simon, it was like night and day. That young man has given him a focus and purpose he's never had before. Simon has managed to warm the heart of the beast, so to say." Nik turned back to the picture on his screen. "Let's find this fucker and do society a favor." Josef agreed.

  …

  Killian called down to the dining hall and ordered their breakfast delivered to his room. He wanted to keep Simon to himself for as long as possible. Claiming him earlier in the night was the most powerful emotional experience of his life, and he wanted to hold onto that feeling a little longer. The door to his heart was flung wide with the promise of love and loyalty and a lifelong commitment, and he could not be happier.

  Looking down at the lovely little face of the man wrapped in his arms, he thought his life had reached complete fulfillment, nothing in this world would ever match what he held right here in his arms. Following the claiming, they showered together and could not resist another round in Killian's large tiled shower.

  Sex in the shower was fast becoming a favorite of his. The sound of Simon's lustful moans reverberating off the wet tile was something that would live in his heart forever. It was music to his ears, and he looked forward to hearing it often.

  Hearing the breakfast delivery at the door, he eased out of bed, careful not to wake his beloved. He slipped on his cotton robe and went to the door. The tray was filled with eggs, waffles, toast, bacon, sausage, and fruit along with a variety of juices. He still wasn't completely certain of Simon's tastes when it came to food, but he would catch on soon enough. In the meantime, he would just give him everything.

  Simon woke to find himself in bed alone. The initial concern receded immediately upon seeing Killian pushing a food cart into the bedroom and parking it near the side of the bed. "Good morning, Killian." God, he was happy. His life was feeling like his own again, and he had a man like Killian Frey by his side, life was perfect.

  "Good morning, my love. I thought we might stay in bed a while longer. We can enjoy a nice breakfast in comfort." He spread out a large linen napkin on the comforter in front of Simon and served him a variety of options. He placed the drinks on the side table before seating himself next to Simon. They ate in silence for a few minutes and then began to discuss their future.

  Killian stated his expectation and desires, which included Simon living with him and him supporting Simon. "I'd like for you to not pressure yourself and just work on getting stronger. Don't worry about anything because I've got you covered. You will want for nothing, my love. I've been on this earth many years, and I've worked and saved and invested so believe me when I tell you that I am well able to take care of you." He thought he was easing Simon's mind by taking away obstacles and worries, but by the look on his face, he was not entirely pleased with what Killian had said.

  “I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I appreciate the offer and I love you dearly, but I have to be allowed to contribute to this union. I can’t just be a draw on it and expect you to always take care of me. I want to take care of you too.” He leaned in closer to Killian and held his gaze as he continued. “I’ve always worked since I was old enough to get a job. I’m not useless or incapable.”

  “I never thought you were, my love. I just want to take care of you.” Killian implored while wrapping his arm around Simon and pulling him closer. “You said you took the construction job just to get out of Pittsburgh and you hoped to find a job you really wanted after getting to Toledo. Tell me what is the job that you really want? What is it that you want to do?” Killian decided to follow his lead.

  “Promise not to laugh.”

  “I would never laugh at you.”

  "Jewelry design, I want to work for a jeweler. I was taking online gemology courses, and jewelry design and I've put together a portfolio of my designs, but I want to work with a licensed jeweler." Simon fell silent as he waited for Killian's comments.

  "I'm impressed," Killian said, and Simon smiled instantly relieved that he understood. "I'd love to see your designs, and I see no problem in getting you employed with a jeweler. The Hadden Coven has many connections in this town."

  “If you could get me an interview I’d be forever in your debt.” Simon continued to smile with anticipation and hope. He didn’t have a lot of training or education as of yet, but he had been told that his designs were good and he wanted a chance to try.

  “I’ll get you an interview.” Killian winked and pulled him in for a hard kiss. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll buy you your own studio and hire a jeweler for you to train under.”

  “Thanks for taking me seriously.”

  "You're welcome." That was followed by more passionate possessive kisses as Killian rolled Simon onto his back and pushed the remaining breakfast items to the side. "You taste so good; I could just eat you up." Simon turned his head to the side, wantonly exposing his claiming mark. "You're tempting me, baby." Killian teased. Simon squirmed suggestively beneath him just as Killian's cell phone began to ring. Communication at the Club, the Coven was through earpieces cell phones were for private use primarily.

  No one had his personal cell number except Master Hadden and Josef. They wouldn’t disturb him at this time unless it was important. He leaned over and checked the screen and saw that it was Josef’s number.

  "I have to take this." He said to Simon and moved to the side of the bed to answer. Simon also sat up, pulling the blanket up to cover himself.

  "Come to the main room of the club, I need to speak with you." It sounded like Josef, but his voice was muffled by the background sounds. It was mid-day, and there really shouldn't be that much going on in the main room, but perhaps they were remodeling. Either way, he could not ignore an order from his superior. He closed the call and turned to regard the sexy man behind him.

  “I’m sorry my love, I have to go downstairs and speak with Josef. I’m sure I won’t be long.” He reached back and pulled Simon up next to him and very deliberately place an open-mouthed sucking kiss to his newly formed bonding scar. Simon felt the sensation of that kiss to the tips of his toes.

  “Oh my God.” He said on exhale. “I felt that in every cell of my being.”

  "Your bonding scar, it will always be sensitive to my touch." Killian kissed it again, and Simon trembled with the wave of desire it sparked. He then got up and after a quick washup dressed and was at the door of the bedroom.

  “Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?” He asked. Simon thought about it for a second and then realized he was not afraid.

  "I'll be fine, just hurry back." He said with a satisfied smile.

  “I’ll definitely hurry.” Killian winked and turned towards the door.

  "I'll be ready and when you get back let's go to the café next door for a coffee," Simon stated when a sudden sense of renewed security and hope washed over him. He could do this; he knew that he could. Killian turned back with a look of love and delight.

  “Coffee at the café.” He said and with a nod and left.

  Simon jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He wasn't sure how long Killian would be, and he wanted to be ready and waiting when he returned. This was a big step, but he was confident that his worse days were behind
him.

  …

  Killian was irritated with the intrusion into his private time with his beloved but was calming himself with the knowledge that Josef wouldn’t disturb him over nothing. He proceeded to the main room of the club and was surprised to see it quiet and virtually empty except for one table where Josef and Kristof were sitting drinking coffee.

  When he walked in, Josef motioned him over to the table. "Sit." He said and ordered another cup of coffee. "I must say I'm surprised to see you out of your room. Is everything alright? Is Simon, okay?" The questions caught him as odd considering it was Josef who summoned him here.

  "You called and asked me to meet you here," Killian said with suspicion. He narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between the two men trying to understand what was happening. "It was your number, I checked. Your voice was muffled, and there was a lot of noise in the background." He clarified the call.

  "I didn't call you Killian," Josef said confused at first and then his eyes turned dark as if something were grievously wrong. "Is Simon alone in your room?" He barked.

  "Yes," Killian answered, moving into Josef's space as he stood up, ready to demand answers and completely forgetting his station. Josef did not take offense and quickly explained the current circumstances to Killian.

  “Has he been identified as having been on the premises?” Killian began walking away towards the elevators with Josef and Kristof close behind.

  "No evidence yet but Nathan hasn't completed his search," Josef informed as they quickly entered the elevator and punched the third floor. Killian's heart was in his throat, thinking about the fact that someone was out to hurt his sweet little man. The darkness that always welled up in times of anger or threat was taking him over now.

  The darkness was a part of him, it gave him focus and determination. It gave him a single-minded approach to his life and his job. He did not fear the darkness, he embraced it. He tried to contact Simon, but their link was too new, and being human it would take time for that particular connection to be complete. He could feel Simon, but he couldn't communicate with him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Simon took a quick shower and was dressed within fifteen minutes of Killian leaving. He was pretty sure they wouldn't keep him long, and Simon was so looking forward to stepping outside. Walking with Killian to the coffee shop and taking a seat at a table in the window, he was ready and excited to prove himself.

  He heard someone at the door and rushed over towards it just to suddenly stop and sense that something was wrong. The door jiggled, and then someone tried twisted the nob trying to get in. Carefully and quietly, Simon moved over to peer out the peephole, thinking it was probably someone mistakenly at the wrong door.

  When he looked out, his heart dropped, and he froze for a moment. It was the same strange man from before who had asked about Victor and then disappeared. Why was he here? Why was he trying to get inside? He watched as the nob started to turn and the lock began to crack.

  Simon turned and started to run towards the bedroom; there was nowhere else to go. He figured he could lock himself in the bathroom and hopefully delay as long as possible his capture. Unfortunately, the vampire was on him in an instant. It was seconds from the time the door gave, and the man took him to the floor, and in that instant, he recognized this man.

  This man had been at the coven, he’d fed from him. This man, he didn’t know his name had been savage in his treatment of him and the other captives. He’d been so brutal with Simon that he’d torn at his wrists during feeding and Simon still wore the scars of his abuse.

  "Oh, so you do remember me, my darling." The man crooned into his ear from behind. He grabbed Simon by his hair and roughly hauled him to his feet. "I'm going to so enjoy draining you dry." He sniffed at Simon's neck and pulled back suddenly.

  "You've bonded with a vampire." He then started to laugh. It was cruel and heartless and made Simon's skin crawl. "Bonus." He shouted. "I kill you, and your beloved will probably kill himself." He started to laugh again and then stopped abruptly.

  "You'll never get away. This is the Hadden Coven, and they're going to kill you." Simon shot back. "Why are you doing this? You have nothing to gain." Simon attempted to get him talking in a hope to stall until Killian returned.

  "You killed my brothers, and now I'm going to kill you. All of you must die." He sounded unhinged, but Simon continued to try and reason.

  “I didn’t kill anyone; I was a victim.”

  "You're as guilty as sin, and you're going to pay and so is your beloved." He started laughing again, and this time he scooped up Simon and ran from the room. Once again, the man moved at the speed of light. In a blink, he was tossing Simon onto a cold tile floor. His head was aching, and his stomach reeling, and he had no idea where he was.

  …

  When the elevator doors slid open is when Killian felt the full force of Simon’s panic and fear. He burst from the elevator and raced down the hall to his quarters. The scene twisted in his gut as the darkness took over.

  He drank in the scents permeating the area from Simon’s panic to the intruder’s aggressive taunting thirst. He stopped in the living room and looked at the floor. Bending down on one knee, he dipped his forefinger into the small pool of blood there, his beloved's and wiped it from the middle of his forehead down to the tip of his nose. This was the decree of a warrior, an act that pronounced he would not stop, he would not falter until the intruder died, ugly. The vampire would not eat, drink, sleep, or live his life until his quest was completed.

  It was more common among rural covens and those who adhere to the warrior culture, but it was recognized and respected, as well as feared, in all the Vampire world.

  Killian stood. "They are still in the building." He could feel his beloved as his heart raced, and his fear tried to consume him. He tried once again to push calm to Simon to aid him in withstanding the assault, but it was weak, indicating that Simon's fear was gaining power over their connection.

  Josef contacted Master Hadden, who began a top to bottom physical and technical search of the premises. Kristof gathered the guards at all entrances and exits. Killian left the room, trailing what he believed was the essence of his beloved. It was barely there, but his heightened vampire senses brought on by the darkness could pick up the slightest micron of recognition. Josef followed Killian, knowing that his instincts would be spot on.

  …

  Simon sat up and looked around. He was on a hard floor, clean polished white tile, it looked like a hospital, but he knew he had not been taken from the Coven. They had not left the building. Lying off in a corner behind a steel table was his first clue. The body was familiar, and once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he recognized Dr. Langley. There was blood smeared on the tile next to his head, and Simon hoped the poor man wasn't dead.

  This was an examination room within the medical center in the basement of the Coven. This floor was deep within the earth and separated from the upper floors by steel walls that prevented the pain and suffering here from seeping into the Coven proper.

  Simon’s anxiety spiked with the realization that Killian may not find him in time due to the security and isolation of this floor. He would not be able to scent him out. He could feel traces of Killian’s feeling but nothing that he could get a hold of. He concentrated and focused on that little trace and pushed his own feeling against it in hopes that Killian could follow the lead.

  “Don’t bother trying to contact your beloved.” The vampire scoffed. “This room is so tight nothing is getting through these walls. “Don’t worry, they’ll find you in time. Probably when they come looking for the good doctor over there. But you and he will be long dead by that time.”

  "You've really underestimated the Hadden Coven," Simon responded with more cool than he thought he could muster. "You're not getting out of here alive, either."

  "Oh, don't worry about me, my darling." He sauntered over to stand, looking down at Simon. "Once I finish draining the doctor
and tear you to pieces, my speed will increase tenfold. I'll be out of this building and out of this town before they even know I was ever here." He smiled but didn't laugh this time. He stared down at Simon with lust that was sickening.

  "I'm saving you for last." He said as he crouched down and tried to run his fingertips down the side of Simon's face, but he jerked away, causing the man to chuckle. "You were so delicious, I loved feeding on you and hearing your cries of pain as I tore through your flesh. I so enjoyed the Perrysburg Coven feeding, there was such a delight because they had no rules. But you and your friends took that away from me and now you will pay."

  "Like I said, you grossly underestimate the Hadden Coven and my beloved. You may kill us, but you're going to die today too. Prepare for a death that is reserved for traitors because that is what awaits you here. It will be a gruesome, ghoulish, and violent end for you.” This newfound strength of character was a surprise considering two days ago he would have simply rolled into a ball and waited for death. But not today because he had Killian by his side and his strength was all he needed to face this monster.

  "You're very spirited for such a small man, but I'll drain that from you soon enough." He grabbed Simon by the hair and made him look at him. "Your faith in your beloved and Coven, I believe, is misplaced. I have been in and out of this establishment several times over the past few days, and no one is the wiser. I even infiltrated the Coven quarters without detection. I managed to send your beloved on a wild goose chase, and I am pleased to say that you will be long dead before you are ever missed." He roughly let go of Simon's hair and stood up.

  “I was to have lunch with my brother today.” Simon lied. “He will find the apartment empty and look for me.”