Greater Vampires

by Trudie Collins

  By two o’clock there was no sign of Craig so JD went to see him. He could have been sympathetic, but it wouldn’t work.

  “Go away,” Craig called out when he knocked on the door.

  JD ignored him. “How dare you tell me to go away,” he said. He sounded angry, but he was faking it. He understood how Craig felt. He, too, wanted to shut himself away, but it would be the worst thing he could do.

  Craig flinched. “I didn’t know it was you.”

  “Get changed into your hunting suit,” JD continued. “Grab your hunting sword and meet me in the outside arena.”

  Craig did not ask why. The mood he thought JD was in, he did not dare to.

  Natalie, however, did.

  JD made sure no emotion was showing when he replied. Had he not done so, she would have seen right through him.

  “Craig wants to be punished for Sarah being taken and I am more than happy to do it.” He turned and walked away.

  She ran after him, but Craig grabbed hold of her. “Don’t,” he said. “You’ll only make it worse. I’ll take whatever he dishes out. I deserve it.”

  “But he might kill you,” she protested.

  Craig smiled at her, but it wasn’t a smile of pleasure. “I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry. He won’t kill me. Not until he has from me whatever information my brain is hiding.”

  Natalie burst into tears and ran from the room. She found the others in the games room and told them what was going on. Jonathon went to see JD. He was in his room, putting on his hunting suit.

  Jonathon didn’t bother to knock. He walked in and closed the door. “You can’t do this,” he said. “Craig is not to blame.”

  “I know that,” JD said. “But he doesn’t. He isn’t listening to anyone so I’m going to do whatever it takes to make him listen.”

  “In that case, don’t break anything.” Jonathon looked at JD closely. He appeared to be fine, but Jonathon knew he was putting on an act. “How are you holding up?”

  “Can you remember how I was when Sarah was shot and I didn’t know if she would live or not?” Jonathon nodded. It was the only time he had seen his brother break down. “Well this is worse. This time it’s not just Sarah I have to worry about, but my child as well. I am barely holding on and if I let myself relax, even a little, I’m going to completely lose it. I can’t afford to do that. Sarah needs me to stay strong, so until I have her back, I am going to bury all of my feelings. But I promise you one thing; before this is all over, someone is going to die.”

  Jonathon didn’t doubt his words. If JD didn’t find his wife and child completely unharmed, he was going to rip to pieces whoever was responsible and something told him that Luke and Gabriel would help him do it.

  Craig was in the outside arena when JD arrived. He looked scared. Scared was good. Scared meant JD might be able to get through to him.

  “Pick up your sword,” he said coldly.

  Craig obeyed. JD noticed Craig’s arm was shaking as he held his weapon in front of him.

  “I am going to attack you,” JD said. “All you have to do is defend yourself.”

  Usually it was the other way round. The student attacked while JD defended. Nobody had managed to hit him. And they never did it using live swords.

  A horrible thought suddenly occurred to Craig. JD needed him alive. That didn’t mean he needed him to be able to walk.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “I don’t want to hear your apologies. What good will your words do me?”

  Before Craig had chance to respond, JD swung his sword. Craig blocked it in time, but the impact sent vibrations up his arm. If JD was going to continue to attack that hard, Craig would not last more than a few minutes.

  JD attacked again, just as hard. Craig barely had time to raise his sword. They were using live blades. If he didn’t block, he was going to be seriously injured.

  JD swung his sword again and again. Craig was so busy fighting for his life he didn’t notice that JD held back a little or changed direction slightly whenever he thought Craig wouldn’t get his sword in position in time.

  Craig was backing up with every attacking move JD made and he was already getting tired. If JD was going to get through to him, he needed to break him and he needed to do it soon. He started talking while he fought.

  “I should never have let Sarah go out with you.” Stab and block. “She would not be missing now if I had said she had to stay at home.” Slash and block, but only just in time. “I would not be scared for the life of my wife and child if you had not taken them out.”

  “I said I am sorry,” Craig said.

  “Not good enough.” JD aimed for his neck. Had he made contact, Craig would be dead.

  “Jesus Christ JD,” Craig cried out. “Are you seriously trying to kill me?”

  “Not yet,” JD said as he attacked once more.

  Tears began to flow down Craig’s face as he went from scared to terrified. He had seen JD go cold before and knew that whoever fought against him when he was like that stood no chance of surviving. If he had paid enough attention to JD, he would have realised that JD was far from going cold, but he was too scared to notice.

  JD attacked again and again and again, each time getting closer and closer to hitting Craig.

  “For God’s sake JD,” Craig managed to yell. “Please stop. It’s not my fault.”

  As soon as he heard the words, JD stepped away from Craig. “I know. I just needed to hear you say it. Not for my benefit, but for yours.”

  Craig collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.

  JD laid down his sword, walked up to him, sat down beside him and hugged him tight.

  “Whoever has taken Sarah would have managed it somehow,” he whispered into his ear. “It’s just bad luck that it happened while she was out with you. If there was anything you could have done to help her, you would have done it. We both know that. Now stop punishing yourself. What you have volunteered to do is the bravest thing I have ever seen and I need you to be in control of yourself by the time Luke and Gabriel come over. Can you do that? For Sarah, if not for me.”

  He felt Craig nod his head, but did not let go of him.

  “I know how much you are hurting right now,” JD continued. “You love Sarah. She is family to you. But you need to pull yourself together. Let go of your self-hatred. It’s not justified.”

  He released Craig and moved away from him. When Craig raised his head, tears were still flowing, but had slowed down.

  “What if we don’t get her back?”

  “We will,” JD said. “Even if it means I have to tear this entire country apart looking for her, we will get her back.”

  Craig wiped his eyes on his sleeve, but the strong leather didn’t absorb his tears. “Do me a favour. Don’t let anyone know you saw me like this.”

  “I won’t mention that you were so scared you almost pissed your pants either,” JD said.

  “I really thought you wanted to kill me.”

  “You know me better than that.”

  Craig said nothing. JD was right. He should have realised that JD would never hurt him.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but you’re still thinking about me instead of yourself.”

  “It’s what trainers do.” JD stood up. “Come on. We should head back. Natalie is probably worried sick about you.”

  Natalie was pacing by the front door when it opened. She threw herself on Craig, wrapping her arms around him.

  “I’m alright,” he said over and over again until she eventually let him go. “JD made me realise that I should stop blaming myself.”

  Natalie put her arms around him once more and over his shoulder mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ to JD. Then she took Craig’s hand and led him up the stairs. He needed to shower and she intended to join him.

  Jonathon came out of the games room as soon as he heard them go up the stairs. “How did it go?”

  “I did what
needed to be done,” JD said, then went to his room.

  The hours slowly ticked by until eventually the four greater vampires returned to Sanctuary 14.

  “We have blood on standby,” Doc said when Luke asked Craig if he was ready.

  “Why?” Luke asked.

  “We keep a supply of our own blood in storage in case we’re ever injured or get bitten,” Jonathon said. “If we need it, there’s enough blood to give us a complete transfusion, to flush out any venom.”

  “That’s pointless,” Gabriel said. “Either there is not enough venom to turn you, in which case it won’t harm you in any way, or there is so much nothing will save you. A blood transfusion will make no difference.”

  “Thanks for making me feel completely useless,” Doc said. “So what you’re saying is that if a hunter has venom in their system, there is nothing I can do other than watch and wait to see if they turn or not.”

  “Pretty much, yeah.”

  “Great,” Doc said. “I had better let the other Sanctuaries know.” He left the room looking very unhappy.

  “Are you really sure you want to do this?” Luke asked Craig.

  “I have to.”

  He was sitting on a sofa in the lounge, Natalie was holding his hand. She looked strangely calm. They had talked about this for hours and she was ready for any outcome.

  “I will love you no matter what happens,” she said.

  “Do you really want to do this publicly?” Gavin asked. Everyone from 14 was present, other than Doc.

  “They are my family,” Craig said. “They have the right to witness this.”

  Luke sat down beside him. “I’ll try to make this as painless as possible, but it will hurt.”

  Craig appreciated not being lied to. He held out his arm, exposing his wrist. “It will be better in the neck,” Luke said.

  Craig swallowed, pulled his arm back, then moved his head to one side. Natalie squeezed his hand tight then looked away. She wanted to give Craig her support, but she could not bear to witness him being bitten.

  Luke glanced at JD, who nodded.

  Then he bit Craig, sinking his fangs deep into his artery and letting his venom flow.

  JD was tense as he watched. Craig was doing what needed to be done, but he didn’t like it.

  “Luke,” JD said in warning. He was taking too long, pumping too much venom into him. “Luke,” he said again, louder, but Luke ignored him; he knew what he was doing.

  “How much did you put into him?” Gavin asked when Luke pulled away.

  “A little less than when I cured Anna. It won’t be enough, but there’s no harm in trying.”

  “How do we know if it has worked?” Anna asked.

  “I talk to him.”

  Luke turned to face Craig. “Look at me Craig.” Craig was unable to disobey. “I have claimed you. You are mine now. I can make you do anything I want to.”

  Luke felt the tension rise in the room as all of the hunters prepared themselves to attack him if he made Craig do anything they were not happy about.

  Gabriel also noticed and smiled. He found it amusing. He had already demonstrated that they were powerless against just one greater vampire so what did they think they could do against four?

  “Touch him,” Luke said to JD. JD reached out his hand and as soon as he made contact with Craig’s skin, he felt a shock. He pulled his arm back quickly.

  “No other vampire can touch him,” he said. “He’s yours.”

  “Good. Now Craig, you can’t lie to me. Tell me about last night. What did you do?”

  “I went out to dinner. It was Alex’s birthday and it’s traditional that Sarah and I go out.”

  “Was anyone with you?”

  “No, I went alone.”

  “Damn,” Luke heard someone say behind him.

  “Don’t worry. I was expecting this. I didn’t think I had done enough to undo what has been done to him.”

  “Is it safe to give him any more venom?” Jane asked.

  “Yes, a little.”

  “Then do it,” Craig said.

  Luke did as requested. This time he was only on Craig’s neck for a few seconds, but it was long enough to give him a small dose of venom.

  “You have to tell me the truth. Did you go out alone last night?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “This isn’t working,” Jonathon said.

  “Give it time,” Gabriel said. “This isn’t an exact science. It is impossible to know exactly how much venom will be needed. We have to do this by trial and error.”

  “Give me more,” Craig demanded.

  “Not yet,” Luke said. “Give it a few more minutes to get completely into your system.”

  Everyone waited impatiently. They could hear the ticking of a clock located somewhere in the room and JD kept looking at his watch.

  Eventually Luke broke the silence. “Search your hidden memories. Did you go out with Sarah last night?”

  “No.” Craig began to swear loudly.

  “Stop it,” JD snapped at him. “I will not have you using that sort of language in front of guests or ladies.”

  Craig shut up. Luke leaned forward and bit him again. Once again he gave him time to fully absorb the venom.

  Katie slipped her hand into Jonathon’s and Gabriel put his arm around Anna. She knew Craig well and didn’t want anything to happen to him.

  “Tell me the truth. Who went with you to dinner last night?” Luke asked.

  “Nobody. I went alone.”

  Luke watched Craig carefully. He was clenching and unclenching one fist. He was in pain, but was trying to hide the fact. This was not a good sign.

  “Is it safe to give him more?” JD asked.

  Luke opted for honesty. “I don’t know. If I had given him enough to turn him, he would be screaming by now, but I can’t be sure how much more he can take without going over the edge.”

  “That’s enough,” JD said. “This goes no further. We’ll have to find another way to find Sarah.”

  ‘No,” Craig cried out. “How can you even suggest we stop now?”

  “As Sarah’s husband, I want to do whatever it takes to get her back, even if it means risking the life of everyone else I care about. But Craig, as your friend and your trainer, I can’t let you do this.”

  “It’s not your decision to make.”

  Craig and JD stared at each other. All of the hunters were expecting Craig to back down, as all of them always did when pitting their will against JD’s, but this time Craig refused to look away.

  Finally JD did. “Alright. Go ahead. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll do everything I can to help you with your transition and get used to being a vampire.”

  Craig didn’t thank him. Instead he moved his head once more, exposing his neck.

  Reluctantly, Luke bit him again. Craig removed his hand from Natalie’s; he didn’t want to hurt her when he balled his fists together. He began to breathe in rapid deep gasps as pain coursed through his body.

  He dropped his head and began to shake. He couldn’t bear to look at anyone.

  “Look at me,” Luke demanded and he raised his head. “You can remember what happened last night. You know who was responsible for taking Sarah. Who did you go to dinner with?”

  “Sarah,” he gasped.

  “Thank God,” someone said. Luke didn’t care who.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I drove Sarah to the restaurant we always go to. We had a meal, then walked back to the car. I was approached by a woman. Tall, attractive, long brown hair. She didn’t speak to me. Instead she went straight for my neck. Then she told me to forget that I had seen her or that Sarah was with me.”

  “Was anyone else there?” Luke asked.

  “Yes. Someone stepped out of the shadows and pointed a gun at me. She said that she would shoot me if Sarah didn’t go with her. I watched them walk over to a parked car and get in. Then the woman who bit me told me to go home.”

&nb
sp; “What make of car?” JD asked. “Did you get the licence plate?”

  “No. Red Toyota. A big one. That’s all I can tell you.”

  “This other woman,” Luke said. “The one with the gun. Can you describe her?”

  Craig smiled. “I can do better than that. I can tell you who it was.”

  Everyone in the room stared at him in surprise.

  “Who was it?” Gabriel asked.

  “Sandra Bradshaw.”

  I have given up hope

  Sarah was sitting on the bed, reading, when the greater vampire entered the room. Despite being a prisoner, she had been treated well. She was permitted to go anywhere in the house, but the doors to the outside were always kept locked and, so far, she had been unable to find any keys. She was being well fed and clean clothes had been provided for her.

  She had no idea where she was, having paid little attention on the drive to the house. She had complied with Sandra’s demand that she accompany her and the greater vampire because she had no option. They had a gun pointed at Craig’s head and she was in no condition to do anything about it.

  Sarah did not doubt that the greater vampire, whoever she was, had put enough venom in Craig to control him. He couldn’t have helped her and probably had no memory of what had happened. That didn’t stop her having faith that JD would somehow find her and rescue her.

  Thankfully, since arriving at the house, Sarah had not seen Sandra. Had she done so, being heavily pregnant wouldn’t have prevented her attacking her. She had been taken in order to punish JD and his father for what had happened at the hearing, though she couldn’t think what Sandra’s ultimate plan could possibly be.

  The vampire had not told her anything about herself. Sarah had slept most of the night, a combination of stress and physical exhaustion making her unable to stay awake. She had then spent the day searching the house for any means of escape.

  Her mobile had been taken from her and there was no land line, so she couldn’t get a message out. Even if she did, what would she say? ‘I’m being held prisoner but I’ve no idea where’ would not be helpful to anyone.