Love and Bloodlust: The Sacred Objects

by Melinda Clark

  Before Avery could lunge at her sister and clasp her arms around her, making sure to never let her go, Kyrie was gone.

  CHAPTER 23

  With her sister left the warm, fuzzy feeling. The cold and damp, musky air returned to her lungs, and Avery cried.

  “Don’t cry,” Talon cooed from across the room.

  Avery laughed lightly and sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hand. He was back with her. “I’m getting us out of here,” she proclaimed, feeling her way along the wall until she found a lantern.

  Talon paused as a light emerged, “You’re free? But how? And what about your wounds?”

  “I feel better than ever, actually,” Avery smiled while fumbling with his chains and momentarily using a brick to hammer on them before realizing that was a bust. “What’s the plan?” Talon prodded.

  “I had the dagger on me when I was captured. I need to find the guy who has it. And we need to get you something to eat before you go totally bat-shit crazy on me.” Avery was getting nowhere with trying to release her boyfriend from his confines. My boyfriend’s a vampire, she thought. Didn’t see that one coming.

  “I could break these if I could feed. It would cleanse the vervain from my system as well,” Talon growled in frustration, trying to tug on his restraints.

  “Okay,” Avery analyzed, talking mostly to herself at the moment. “There’s a mansion full of vampires, so there’s got to be…I’ll be right back.” Avery started to leave.

  “Avery,” Talon warned. She turned to face him, and he looked into her reddened eyes, “Be careful.”

  Avery nodded and took off up the stairs. She cracked the cellar door and peered out into a dining room. The table itself was long and wooden, like one you would find in a castle. It also happened to be covered in glasses. And what do vampires drink? Avery surveyed the area cautiously before rushing to the table and peering into the cups. BINGO. She turned around with a large jug of blood in her hand and came face to face with an angry vampire in a black suit. SHIT.

  The vampire punched at her and Avery scarcely dodged it in time and shoved the jug back onto the table before spinning out of his direct path, putting a chair between them. The vampire leaned down to grab the chair, and Avery grabbed his wrist and twisted, leading his body over the table as she threw him. Control the wrist, control the arm, the body follows.

  As he hit the floor, Avery scoured the room for anything she could use as a weapon. A serrated knife sat on a cutting board across the table. She lunged and had just enough time to grab it before the vampire was at her again.

  Avery slashed at him. He dodged each time. He hit the knife out of her hand and grabbed her wrist. The vampire pulled her toward him and spun her away from him in an attempt to clasp both her hands behind her. Avery wasn’t about to be captured again. She elbowed the vampire in the face and viciously horse-kicked him in the gut, sending him stumbling backward.

  The table rumbled as he caught himself on it, the jug shaking and spilling some of its contents. Oh shit oh shit oh shit, she thought as she steadied the container. Take the fight away from the blood.

  She rushed across the room after spotting two swords crossed over a mantle. She struggled to pull one down from its mount as the vampire dug his nails into her shoulder. She grit her teeth, holding tightly to the handle as she was yanked backward, the sword coming free with her. Avery swung blindly as she spun around to face her opponent. Luckily she made contact with pale skin. The injury wouldn’t have killed him, but it sure as hell distracted him as he held his throat while dark blood flowed freely from it. Avery took the opportunity to stick him through his chest and be done with it. Avery quickly stalked across the room, sword in hand, and grabbed the now half-full, sticky jug. She headed back to the cellar before anyone else could become the wiser as to her escape.

  She hurried down the stairs to Talon, clanging the sword down onto the ground. He winced up at her, trying to smile.

  “Here,” Avery placed the mouth of the vessel to his lips to help him drink.

  Talon’s eyes turned red as he furiously guzzled the liquid. When it was gone Avery stood back for a moment, watching Talon regain his composure and try to pull on his chains, still to no avail.

  “It’s no good,” he stated. “It was enough to help bring my mental state back, but just not enough to get me to full physical strength.”

  Avery tried to remember how much more blood she had seen upstairs, “How much more do you need?”

  “Just a little bit more would suffice. Maybe a cup or so.”

  Avery made a decision right then that she never, not in a million years, thought she would have to make.

  “Drink from me then.”

  Talon locked his all too serious eyes on hers, “NO.”

  “If you’re going to help me, I need you at full strength,” Avery tugged at the chain. “Not to mention, free. You said a cup. That’s less than a blood donation.”

  “Avery, I love you. I don’t want to hurt you like…”

  She cut him off. “Talon,” she cupped his prickly jaw between her hands. “It’s because I know that you love me that I believe you can stop yourself from taking more than you need.”

  Avery nudged at her shirt where Cain had ripped it and exposed the top of her breast. His eyes were unsure, hungry, but unsure. He was reluctant, and she understood why. But there was no time for this right now. She would have to goad him to proceed with the plan. Avery ran her fingers through his hair and pulled Talon’s head down until she felt his breath hot on her chest.

  Talon inhaled her. The scent drove his libido mad, though now was neither the time nor place for such thoughts. His throat burned, begging for him to quench his need. He was excited, yet scared of what he was about to do. Avery believed in him. But was that enough to give him the courage to do what he must? What good would he be chained in this cellar until God knows when?

  He didn’t want to hurt her. But more than that, he didn’t want her to become disgusted or fearful of him after this. He wanted to hold her close, make it feel as loving as he possibly could, but he couldn’t move his hands down to her at all.

  The hairs stood up on his neck when he could hear her heartbeat rise as she spoke, “Talon, there’s no time…”

  Talon grit his teeth. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her heated skin before his teeth elongated and pierced her flesh. Avery flinched as she let slip a cry from her mouth, her muscles quivering beneath him. He sucked the iron-rich warmth from her, feeling his strength return by the seconds. Her hands went from his hair to around his neck, and she clenched her eyes shut as she leaned in closer to him. A thought brought him a brief moment of happiness. He wasn’t as furious to eat as he thought he may be. He slowly and carefully drank with purpose. Was this because of his strong intentions not to hurt her?

  He carefully retracted his fangs and licked the top of her breast, trying to clot the punctures he left on her. Avery shivered and let out a sharp breath, letting go of his neck. Talon pulled his head away and watched her begin to sway.

  “See that wasn’t so…” Avery started.

  He tensed his arms and broke the chains instantly, embracing her. He buried his head in her hair and pleaded with her, “Forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive,” she hugged him back. She looked up at him and kissed him on the lips, brief, but full of feeling none the less. “Now let’s make these bastards pay for ever messing with us,” she said with a grin.

  Sword in hand, Avery crept up the cellar stairs with Talon behind her. She was being wary of who may be on the other side of the door, though she found that pointless as soon as Talon brushed her aside and kicked the huge wood and steel barrier off its hinges. That would definitely attract attention.

  Avery raised an eyebrow, “Back to full strength I see.”

  Talon smiled as he took her hand and guided her over the broken door pieces. She could hear movement on the ceiling above her.

  “Here they come,” Talon stat
ed just before three vampires rushed down the stairs.

  Talon stepped in front of Avery, picking up a dining chair and spinning around once before releasing it with full force at the first vampire. The chair shattered and sent the vampire onto the floor. Talon picked up a piece of the fragmented seating and charged the second vampire, shoving him into the wall and forcing the piece through his chest until it connected with drywall. The vampire turned to ash. Avery followed behind as quickly as she could, catching the attention of the third vampire. She slashed at his throat, causing the vampire to shield his neck with his hands before she changed the direction of the blade by putting the tip through his heart. The first vampire that had been knocked to the floor had his body littered with wooden splinters and chunks of chair. Talon picked up a nearby bust and bashed his skull with it before he could get up. Avery cringed at the sight of the vampire’s bloodied and caved in head before finishing him.

  Avery motioned to the other sword above the mantle of the dining room, and Talon had it and its sheath in his hand in half a second. Without wasting any time, Avery and Talon charged up the stairs.

  “We need to find the vampire that took the dagger from me,” Avery stated.

  “Do you remember what he looked like?”

  “No. I had a hood over my head at the time. But I can remember his voice.”

  At the top of the stairs was a long hallway that went in both directions.

  Talon paused on the stairwell. “We don’t have time to have a conversation with all these vampires, kill them and then rummage through the remains. We are going to have to make some decisions and fast,” Talon made a grim face as he was deep in thought.

  “Now which way do we go to find our dagger-snatching mystery vampire?” Talon bantered. A vampire ran at Talon only to be stabbed in the stomach, a ripping sound of flesh as it was dragged across his abdomen. Talon pushed him behind them, and down the stairs, the vampire tumbled, a trail of dark blood behind him.

  Avery saw movement in the corner of her eye off to her right and turned to the source, thinking it was another vampire. For a millisecond she could see a ghostly hand waving her toward a door. Kyrie?

  “This way,” Avery charged ahead.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Not really, but I have a good feeling.”

  Avery gripped the door handle and found it locked. She looked at Talon and stepped back as he sheathed his sword and kicked in the door.

  “What the hell?!” a voice thundered. Avery paused a moment to process the sound, staring at a tall, dark-skinned vampire with his head clean-shaven. He jumped up from his seat wiping blood from his mouth and on the floor in front of him lay a young red-haired girl in a heap.

  “That’s him,” Avery turned Talon on him with a nod of her head.

  While Talon scuffled with the vampire, Avery bent down to check the victim’s status. She placed her fingers on the girl’s neck and widened her eyes. The girl had a pulse, but it was faint. Avery rolled her over. The girl’s wild hair fell from her face. She couldn’t have been more than fifteen. Avery grabbed a nearby throw and ripped off a piece to hold to the girl’s neck.

  “Talon! Stop messing around and help me with her. She’s still alive.”

  Talon huffed at her words, his arms interlocked with the vampire in a match of strength. The girl came to consciousness, shrieking before Avery could calm her. They watched as Talon kicked the vampire’s legs out from underneath him and helped fasten his head to the floor, forcing his skull through floorboards.

  “Where’s the dagger you took from her?” Talon growled while motioning to Avery.

  “Fuck you,” the vampire hissed.

  Talon’s eyes raged red as he pummeled the vampire’s head into the floor. The vampire groaned in pain. The girl was conscious enough for Avery to pass the makeshift pressure bandage off to her care. Avery walked over to them as Talon held the vamp down and she rummaged through his jacket. She found the dagger tucked in an inside pocket.

  “Yes!” Avery exclaimed under her breath as she spun the dagger in her hands once. She took another piece of the throw and wrapped it around the blade before tucking it into her waistband. Talon forced a sharp piece of floorboard into the vampire’s chest, turning him into ashes.

  “Can you get her out of here?” Avery asked.

  “We don’t have time,” Talon started.

  The girl, coming out of her silent shock from watching a man turned to dust, started to bawl, “Please, I want to go home!”

  Avery gave Talon a look of How can you say no to that?

  “I’m not leaving you alone,” he gruffly responded.

  “Just take her to the nearest lived-in home, all quick-like. She can get help from there.”

  Talon grit his teeth. He hated the idea, but the girl was not only in need of help but a hindrance to them. Getting rid of her sooner than later would be for the best.

  “Fine. But promise me you won’t go after Cain alone. Wait for me.”

  “Girl Scout's honor,” Avery smiled with her three middle fingers together, making the sign.

  Talon scooped up the shivering, young girl in his arms. Avery placed her hand gently on his arm, looking at him briefly before addressing the girl, “Keep applying pressure. He’s going to take you somewhere safer. Oh, and hold your breath, or you’ll get nauseous.”

  “What?” The girl squeaked before shrieking as Talon took off at his full speed, down the stairs, and out the front door into the dark woods. The girl clung to him tightly, no longer keeping pressure on her neck. Her red hair wisped across his face, the metallic smell strong. The burn in his throat was there, but faint and ignorable. Another tingling, his vampy-sense, alerted him just as he was plowed into by a black blur. Talon tucked himself around the girl as he rolled, her still in his arms, yelping as they hit the dirt. Talon placed her down behind a nearby tree and demanded she stay hidden.

  He rose to his feet and faced his attacker. Before him, in a staggered, lean 6-foot stance, was a ghoul of a demon he had never encountered before. It stared him down with large, black, unblinking eyes. Flesh was stripped under its sockets. It had no nose or lips, just rot. The creature widened its mouth, filled with two tightly jagged rows of canine teeth and thick, stretched saliva between them. An upside-down cross was carved into its forehead. It had daggers for claws on both its hands.

  “Ah man, that’s a face, not even a mother could love,” Talon cringed. The demon howled in response. “Hit a nerve, did I?”

  The demon lunged to attack as Talon drew his sword.

  Avery chuckled as the girl shrieked and she watched the two vanish in a blur. Unfortunately, Avery didn’t anticipate on keeping her promise. She had the dagger, a biblical menace to kill and very little time to do it in. Not to mention Gunner was still alive and most likely around here somewhere. Damn. She’d deal with him later.

  Back in the hallway, Avery stopped to analyze where she was. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the route the vampires had taken her from Cain’s room to the cellar so she could find her way back up there. This place was ridiculously huge. After a couple of failed turns, Avery opened a door that hid another staircase that led to the third floor.

  “Bingo,” she muttered.

  Avery crept up the stairs with her sword at the ready in front of her, occasionally looking behind her in anticipation of another attack. To her surprise, she reached the top without hearing so much as a peep. It felt eerie as the stairwell seemed deathly still. She approached the door at the top of the stairs and grabbed onto the cold metal knob. The stinging sensation sent a chill up her spine. She took a deep breath, trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. Her nerves were ramped up, a knot forming in her stomach.

  “I can hear you breathing out there…” Cain’s deep voice vibrated through the door.

  Avery held her breath. SHIT.

  CHAPTER 24

  The demon was nearly as fast and strong as Talon was, parrying sword blows with its claw
s. The blade locked between them before being ripped from Talon’s hands. Talon dodged the swipes, though his shirt wasn’t as lucky before he stumbled over something sticking out of the ground behind him. A root? The demon pounced on him. Talon held the deadly claws back and put a little space between him and the demon with his knees. The ghoulish creature dripped with drool and chomped at his face rabidly. The hollowed black eyes unblinking, his stinking rot breath made Talon gag.

  “Ah, a Flesh-Eater. Bad luck friend,” a voice echoed through the trees around him. “Strong, fast…and beware the claws; I hear they’re poisonous.”

  Talon tried to stay focused on not letting this demon get the better of him, but true anger boiled in him as he scoffed. “You just don’t know when to fuck off, do you?”

  Gunner appeared over Talon’s shoulder, watching his struggle with amusement.

  “What are you doing here?” Talon grunted, straining against the demon.

  “Well when the boss-guy sent this thing after you, I just had to see how it went. I have to say, I don’t envy you. That thing is hideous, and its odor….”

  “Boss-guy huh?” Talon got his boot-clad feet under the chest of the demon and launched it over 30 feet. The demon hit the ground rolling, landing on a pile of crunchy leaves. Talon flipped up to his feet immediately. “Why are you really loyal to him? The Eric I knew was nobody’s bitch….”

  “Well, Cain did help me live by imbuing some of his spirit into me, so I’m kind of… strangely…bound to his word.”

  Talon turned away from Gunner a moment to hip throw the demon into a tree, but before he let go the demon sunk some of his teeth into Talon’s arm. Talon grunted as blood seeped through his shirt. He was having a hell of a time keeping a watchful eye on both the demon and Gunner, whom the demon seemed to be ignoring entirely.

  Gunner noticed this and threw his hands up to his chest, “Oh, I’m just here to watch. Of course, I could help kill you, and between the two of us, it would be fast. But what fun would that be?”