These bastards had set a trap for the two people I was most willing to die for. I just hoped it didn't come to that.
* * * *
We drove for an hour straight to the middle of nowhere. I didn't even know where we were. I was too upset to pay attention. If they called Marco first then that meant he had gone too, they might both already be dead for all I knew. But I couldn't think that way, surely I would have felt it if one of them had died.
We pulled up at an old barn. There wasn't a house close by which was a big clue that we had no business there. When we got out of the car I remembered I was unarmed.
"Mason," I said, grabbing his wrist. "We don't have any weapons. I know you're a vampire and he's a werewolf, but we don't know how many of them there are."
"Calm yourself," Mason said in his deep smooth voice as he opened the trunk.
Mason's trunk contained an arsenal that would have made Alfred proud. There was a small flame thrower, a grenade launcher, several swords and daggers, guns, ammo, a mace, and a large water gun.
"What the fuck?" Bade said, pointing at the water gun.
"Holy water," Mason said simply.
I snatched the weapon up before either of them could claim it.
"If those bastards have hurt my men, I'll make them burn," I growled.
Mason's wicked smile showed his approval as he picked up the long spiked mace. Bade reached into the back and pulled out a thick silver chain. He started wrapping the chain around his knuckles as he put something I couldn't see in his back pocket.
"I have gloves so you can use that without pain," Mason offered.
Bade only smiled and said, "Thanks, mate, but I'll take the pain."
It was two weeks before the next full moon, and the night was almost completely dark as we entered the barn. There was a large trap door near the back and it was open. The barn itself didn't seem odd or threatening in any way. There was even fresh hay up in the loft. It was the feeling radiating from the place that made me sick.
"I'll go first," Bade said, putting a hand against my shoulder to hold me back.
For once I didn't object and watched as Bade dropped down the hole. I jumped in behind him, followed by Mason. The room underneath the barn was empty and didn't even look like it belonged with the rest of the building. It was concrete and the walls were painted white. It was completely empty of even any equipment or furniture of any kind. There was a door on the other end of the room and we all walked cautiously toward it. The barn had obviously been built long after this underground structure.
When Bade opened the door it revealed a staircase leading further underground.
"What choice do we have?" he said with a shrug as he started down the stairs.
These stairs were old and not made from concrete, but carved out of stone. What the hell had we gotten ourselves into? The stairs led to another door. Since it was locked, we knocked on this one. It seemed a little stupid, but what else could we do? Whoever was here was probably expecting us. The door must have been sound proof because I couldn't hear any footsteps; the door was just suddenly opened.
"Please, come in," said an oriental vampire with very little accent.
He was about five foot eight with short dark hair and a mustache. For some reason he instantly made me think if Ghengis Khan and that was not a good thing.
"Your would-be protector has just arrived," he said gesturing toward where Dracula stood.
His eyes widened at my appearance, but he otherwise showed no reaction. Marco was nowhere in sight.
"What game are you playing at Khan?"
He actually called him Khan! The other vampire smiled appreciatively, but I shivered at the sound of Dracula's voice. The voice that normally caressed when he spoke now promised violence I would not have wanted to be the recipient of.
"No game," Khan said with an evil smile. "I merely wish to show you something."
He wore long flowing robes almost like a wizard. They were a pale green trimmed in gold and it gave him a sort of regal appearance. I noticed as he opened the next door that Khan walked with a cane, but he didn't have a limp.
None of us were prepared for what was in the next room. A young woman with long red hair was hanging from the ceiling. There were hooks which were connected to the back of her shirt- at least I hoped they were connected to her shirt. What remained of her clothing had been torn, and her pants removed entirely. There was a vampire at both of her inner thighs and her legs were spread wide while they fed from her. There were many other bite wounds on her body. I was horrified, but I nearly threw up when she lifted her head. It was Mary.
"No," I said breathlessly. "Why would you do this?" I asked.
I tried to take a step forward but Dracula stopped me as Khan explained, "We thought she was you. Of course, after the wig came off we realized our mistake. However, you could not be found. If we could not find you, it stood to reason that perhaps he couldn't either," he said pointing to Dracula. "I never expected our bluff to work this well," he said, smiling.
"We thought that perhaps his bond was strong enough with you that he would feel your death, maybe even die himself," he said almost joyfully. "You see, there are those of us who wish to remain secret." He explained this as if we were having a casual conversation over tea. "If we can destroy the original then maybe it will be possible to drop out of sight. Make people believe there are less of us and that the few they encounter are rare." He sighed. "Unfortunately, without the council on our side, it is impossible to turn back time. Now, we must go on. But we can still punish his mistake."
"I acted in favor of the majority," Dracula said, his voice cold.
"Yes." Khan smiled. "But I've never been in favor of democracy."
"What about Mary?" I asked.
She whimpered and it was all I could do to keep from soaking him down with holy water.
"You can have her back," he said. "If you can claim her."
He had scarcely spoken the words before the other two vampires were upon us. I was knocked against the wall so hard I nearly passed out from the impact. I dropped the water gun. A large vampire that looked like a barbarian of some sort jumped on top of me. He growled as he pressed his face closer to mine. My hands were around his throat and his face was wet with Mary's blood. I could hear her crying, and that was enough to unleash the beast within me. I'm very strong, but when adrenaline kicks in my strength becomes super human. I dug my hands into his Adam's apple and extended my claws.
He had only a moment for the shock to register on his features before I ripped out his throat. However, it took more than that to kill such an old vampire. Bade's chain whipped through the air and caught him from behind. While he yanked the barbarian backward, Mason brained him with the mace.
I turned away while Mason bashed his head into oblivion and Bade ripped out his heart with his bare hands. I went for the water gun as the other vamp who had been feeding on Mary turned on me. I couldn't see Dracula, but I could hear his whip snapping through the air and hear him struggling with Khan somewhere to my left.
As the vamp lunged at me I unleashed a spray of holy water across his bare chest. His skin bubbled and began to melt before my eyes. It was the worst burn I'd ever seen and made me feel sick to think of what had been done to Dracula's face. I'd never actually seen a vampire's reaction to holy water before.
He screamed and turned to find Bade standing behind him. To my surprise, Bade pulled a crucifix from his back pocket. Where was that in the trunk and why didn't I get it first? Mason recoiled from the sight but the other vampire only laughed.
"I'm an atheist," he snarled.
Bade pressed the top of the cross and a long blade extended from the bottom.
"Have some faith," he growled as he jammed the blade into the vampire's forehead.
He snatched the blade out and stabbed the vampire through the heart while Mason ripped his head from his shoulders.
?
Chapter Twelve
The walls were covered in blood and gore, and so was I. I turned around to see Dracula and Khan struggling near Mary. Khan was bleeding badly, and had several whip marks across his face. His clothes hung in shreds and in places so did his skin.
I ran forward and Khan flung his hand out in my direction. An invisible hand seemed to swat me backward. I hit Bade and we both hit the wall. Dracula backhanded Khan and as he fell to the floor he extended the blade which had been concealed in his walking cane. I screamed, but he wasn't going for Dracula, he was aiming at Mary.
Before I finished drawing breath to scream again, Dracula had jumped in front of her. The blade pierced his chest and Khan looked triumphant. But then Dracula grabbed Khan's hand and pulled the blade through him to the hilt as he hissed, "You cannot kill what is already dead."
Khan took a step back looking stunned. In one swift movement Dracula removed the blade as smoothly as if it had been in a sheath and slit Khan's throat.
With a scream of rage Khan spun around and flew from the room. A rush of air moved past where Bade and I still sat on the floor and he was gone.
"Where did he go?" Mason said, taking off toward the stairs.
"Fuck him," I spat as I ran toward Dracula.
He was removing Mary from the ceiling. Just as I had feared, the hooks were in her back and not her shirt.
"No," he whispered sadly as he removed her limp body from the hooks. Dracula wrapped Mary in his arms and sat on the floor. The red wig had fallen off and he ran his fingers through her long blond hair. "She was innocent," he said softly, still stroking her hair.
Bade and Mason walked over and he confirmed my fears. "Now she is dead," he whispered, "and it is my fault."
"No," I said as I started crying over Mary along with Dracula. "Oh, God. Elijah thought she was safe." I wept harder, leaning over her.
We sat there for several moments before I wiped my eyes and said, "I don't know how to tell him."
"I'll tell him," Marco's voice answered from the stairs.
"Marco," I said, running to him.
He wrapped me tightly in his arms. It was so good to see him.
"Where were you?" I asked as I surveyed the large bump and cut on his forehead.
"Luther and I were in an accident trying to get here," he said. "Is anyone else hurt?"
"No," Bade answered.
When I glanced back I was surprised to find him wiping tears also.
"How's Luther?" I asked.
"He's outside in the taxi. He broke his arm, but he'll be fine in a few days."
"You took a taxi?"
"The driver's one of us," he explained.
I was still numb with shock. None of us seemed able to believe what had just happened. While Bade told Marco the story I went back over to Dracula. He had removed his coat and covered Mary's face.
"I've got a blanket in my car," Mason offered solemnly.
Dracula only nodded. When he had removed his coat I got a good look at how bad his injury was. It was the only wound Khan had been able to inflict, but it looked serious. His white shirt was soaked with blood, but he didn't seem to notice.
As I touched his shoulder just above the exit wound in his back he said softly, "I will heal." The pain in his voice tugged at my heart and he didn't need to say more for me to understand that she would not, and it was killing him.
"I'll be back," I whispered. "We should get you home."
"I'll take her body to the clinic," Bade said. "There's a morgue downstairs for werewolves."
Marco wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head.
"See to his injuries," he said, nodding toward Dracula. "I'll tell Elijah tonight. We'll give them a chance to … clean her up."
"What about you?" I asked, turning so that I could touch the cut on his forehead.
"I'll be healed by tomorrow afternoon," he assured me.
Marco led me back up the stairs and into the night. We stopped beside Mason's car and he embraced me so tightly I thought something might break.
"I'm sorry Mary's dead," he cried. "But I was expecting to find you."
He pulled back and kissed me. His warm tears wet my face as he growled against my lips, "I don't know what I would have done if it was you, Red."
I pressed my face against his chest and breathed in his familiar scent. It felt so good to be in his arms again.
"I've missed you," I said. "I've missed you so much."
I started kissing him through his t-shirt. I kissed over his chest and up to the side of his throat. It wasn't sexual, it was more of a desire to just touch him. He didn't ask if I had been sleeping with Dracula and I loved him for it. Of course, the fact that he still wore a mask probably gave that away. But still I took it as a sign of his love for me that he didn't push the issue. We stood there holding each other for several minutes before he said, "You should get Dracula home. He'll bleed out if he doesn't feed and get some rest." He sighed heavily before adding, "I'll call you before I talk to Elijah if you want to be there."
"Yeah, I do."
About that time I looked around Marco to see Mason removing a dark-colored blanket from the trunk of his car.
"Luther and I will follow you to the clinic if you'll give us a ride to The Dread Moon. I've got another car there," Marco said to him.
"Of course." Mason nodded.
When I went back inside I found Bade standing near the door with Dracula drinking from his wrist. I hadn't expected Bade to open a vein. My surprise must have shown.
"You shouldn't have to do everything," he said to me.
I appreciated the gesture. By now Mason had moved Mary to the backseat of his car. He was standing slightly to our left and spraying the bodies down with holy water. He seemed to enjoy the way they sizzled.
When I stared at him he looked up and said, "You think they deserve to burn, right?"
"Absolutely."
He continued his work with my blessing. By the time I turned back around Dracula was finished. I could tell by the color of his shirt that he had already stopped bleeding. His shirt was beginning to darken as the blood dried.