Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (9 page)

Orhn’s placed his right hand on Zack’s left upper arm. “What’s the matter Zack? You look as though you’re feeling faint? Have you lost too much blood? Thirsty yet?” Orhn reached into his pocket with the other hand and pulled out a small pouch of red liquid in a vinyl bag. It looked thick, like something from a medical storage room. Orhn tore open the spout with his fingers. He doused Zack’s leg with it.

Zack reacted without thinking. “What the fu-“

Orhn bore his fingers into Zack’s left upper arm before the ‘f’ sound leaped off his lips. Zack could feel Orhn's fingers pierce his muscles, tear his flesh. There was a crepitation as Orhn grasped the shaft of Zack's arm in his hand, below the shoulder. It was impossible, but it was happening. Blood gushed down from Zack’s left arm.

“What’s wrong Zack? You look hurt?” More blood splattered on the ground, tapping lightly on Orhn’s shoe. “I’m not hurting you, am I?” Orhn squeezed, as more blood flowed. Orhn was waiting. He was searching Zack’s face for a reaction, examining his arm and leg for any subtle change. Orhn was looking for something special. “Now close your wounds, take in the blood, and regenerate yourself!” Orhn yelled with a terrifying voice.

Zack tried to be diplomatic, to guide Orhn away from the raw flesh and bone he had a hold of. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zack winced in pain.

Orhn leaned into Zack’s left ear, and whispered. “Are you’re telling me the truth, Zack? Are you’re telling me that you simply can’t do what I’ve asked you to?” Orhn let go of Zack's arm. He stood back up and continued to whisper in a deep ominous rumble. “That means you are not what I came here to find. Your leg, your arm, there's no sign of repair at all. You can't help me the way you are now. You do not hold the leverage I have sought so diligently for. Not you, not yet.”

Zack was feeling dizzy. “So why the hell am I here then? Why are you doing this to me?” Zack was being bold as he was bleeding. The lack of blood was making him more daring.

“Blood awakens the demons that slumber in the void. Spill the blood, rouse the demon.” Orhn spoke an incantation.

There was no other sound. There was only one Zack could hear. Not Orhn's words, not his footsteps, or the trickle of Zack's life falling to the ground. This sound was different, painful. It pierced his thoughts and imprisoned him in the moment. Zack didn’t feel the actual pain from it, there was slight comfort in knowing something so damaging could be that uneventful. The crackle shook across his muscle as he knew what had happened. Orhn had broken Zack’s left humerus in half with a stab from his finger tips. He had kicked Zack's leg in the same flash of aggression, breaking it as well. There was a ripple effect that rung in Zack’s skeleton. The cracking sound pierced Zack.

“And I’m not a freak, demon.” Orhn said as Zack trembled in shock. “Not like you at least. But my abilities have allowed me to track you down. Now come out or your vessel will die before I'm done.”

Zack didn’t care anymore, he was still afraid. There was no way to dissuade Orhn. Zack lost it. “Of course you're a freak! You’re sick, I can’t regenerate! I’m human, not a vampire! I’m bleeding to death because of you Orhn, can’t you see that!?” Zack was becoming fatigued and anemic. His will to fight and scream was dwindling. “But why the hell are you spraying me with blood? Don’t you think I’m bleeding enough? Why add to the mess? Why kill me like this?”

Orhn stepped back. Zack was pleading from his heart. Orhn debated what to do with Zack. He pondered, pacing back and forth slowly and conscientiously a few feet in front of Zack. Then he stopped, and suddenly appeared facing Zack eye to eye, inches from him.

“You honestly don’t know, do you? You have no idea what you really are, do you?” Orhn asked. He seemed to be stunned at the possibility.

Zack shook his head gently with all the energy he had to muster. The lack of blood was affecting him more with each passing second. He was going to lose consciousness.

“You have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about?” Orhn placed his right hand on Zack's face. He opened Zack’s mouth to examine his teeth. Orhn's eyes opened. “You haven’t changed. After this much? They should be sharp by now. You really aren't what I need you to be. Not as you are.” Orhn rubbed his thumb over Zack's teeth, the ones that might eventually be fangs. “Nothing. You haven’t turned at all. What a shame.”

Zack’s vision was fading in and out as his shallow breathing rocked his torso back and forth. The motion caused his head to flop side to side. Zack told Orhn with a faint voice. “I’m not one of you.”

“You have no idea how true you are in that statement.” Orhn steadied Zack's head with his hands. He leaned into his left ear. In an ominous tone he replied. “But you will.”

A loud crash rung from behind the steel pull down door at the front of the warehouse. The door suddenly rattled with an impact. Someone was trying to break it down. A second strike rippled the metal, deforming it further.

The echo began to lull Zack. Each hit was followed by a moment of near deafness. Zack saw Orhn walk away. There was a rumble that shook the ground. Zack blinked, then watched Orhn leave through a large gap in the wall. Right into the bright mid-day sun. There was a clear struggle masked on the other side of the door. The screams of a woman were over shadowed by a sudden packing sound. Something hit the ground, letting out a wet splash.

A familiar perfume wavered towards Zack, the smell of cherries and lavender. It was intoxicating, welcoming. The scent soothed him as he fixated on exactly who it was. The recent memory rushed his mind. This could only be one person. It was Kyli’s scent.

Seven hours and nightfall had arrived. Zack remained sitting in the chair, bound and taped. His bleeding limbs partially coagulated. The blood had stopped dripping. Zack was still unconscious.

Zack dreamt of a time when he was happy. When he was a young child. Zack recalled the large open wheat field again. He smiled at the feeling of the warm breeze on his body. On his face. It felt nice. Zack closed his eyes.

“Wake up, we have a guest.” A sharp, eerie voice said to Zack quickly and without warning.

Zack's dream ended. Zack slowly opened his eyes.

A dark figure entered through the broken makeshift doorway Orhn had created. She was limping. It was Kyli. She surveyed Zack. He was in bad shape. A trail of blood had solidified over both of his open wounds. Kyli ripped the bindings off with her bare hands. Seemingly with no effort at all. With a little more than a heave-ho motion, Kyli picked up Zack off the chair and slung him over her right shoulder.

Zack fully awoke to Kyli gently placing him into her car. As he tumbled into the seat, the sensation of pain struck. The shock came from his leg, the movement of his bones grinding snapped Zack back into reality. The knowledge that his leg was actually broken unnerved him. When Orhn tore into it, he only felt the flesh rip. There was no breaking sound, not even a crack. At some point he must have fractured it. Zack shuttered to think what Orhn was capable of if he did want to kill someone.

Zack tried to talk. He managed to speak two words. “My leg.” Zack’s voice was horse, dry from the blood thickening at the back of his throat. He was dehydrated from the blood loss. Zack's eyes were glassed over. His vision was blurred.

Kyli handed Zack a small cup of water. He put his hands out, completely missing the cup. Kyli decided to do things a much easier way. She splashed it on his face instead. It took Zack a second to realize what Kyli had done. He nodded and cleared his eyes.

The pain had disconnected Zack from the situation. He hadn't even noticed the interior of the car he was in. With his vision now intact, Zack looked around. There was a red hue emanating from the dashboard. Blue LEDs were on the control panel for the electronics. It was dark in the car, but luminescent at the same time. The lights shined into Zack's eyes, giving him the added discomfort of a headache. He gazed around the cabin. Red-plush, velvet-lined, was the general theme of the car. Black velour curtains blocked the view of the actual windows. Zack couldn’t tell what kind of car it was from inside. Only that it was a type of station wagon. Whatever the make of the vehicle, it was in great condition and clearly lavishly expensive. For a moment there was no pain. Zack took his attention away from his injuries. He asked Kyli about her ride. “What is this? I didn’t know you had a car? How old is this?” Zack put his right hand to his head. The movement caused a shift in his leg. There was a snapping sound.

“Shouldn't you be more concerned about that crackling sound coming from your calf?” Kyli closed the passenger door. She walked slowly around the car and climbed in. “Besides, isn't there another question you'd like to ask me?” Kyli shut her door.

“Yeah? Who was that?” Zack paused and thought about what Kyli actually said. “What?”

Kyli reached into the middle seat. A cooler had been custom built between the two front bench seats. She removed an ice pack, affixing it to the back of her neck on the right side. “Well Zack, that’s quite a lot of questions for someone that was just saved by a beaten and bloodied young woman.”

Zack looked Kyli over. There was a gash on the right side of her neck. The ice pack was only covering half of it. From the end of the shoulder to the bottom of her ear, it was long and deep. Her skin was torn wide open. She pushed the wound shut with her hand. Blood oozed out and onto the black dress she was wearing. Zack noticed Kyli was wearing a different black dress than he had seen her in at the club. It was short, to her mid thighs. The front was high cut, covering most of Kyli's ample cleavage. The back was also very high, only showing her bare neck. It was satin from what Zack was able to see. She had on a long white men's cotton business shirt over the black dress. The cuffs were black, along with the collar. It was a strange mix to see. It came to the bottom of the dress and covered her arms entirely. She had on silver cuff links. Zack could see the image of three musical notes on the faces of them. Zack thought she looked amazing, except for how she felt. Kyli was very attractive, there was no contesting that. The blood had soaked through the right side, down to the seat. Kyli pressed her hand on top of her shoulder. She closed the wound with force. Her dress was stained heavily under the shirt. Its wet sheen glistened from beside the white. The once white shirt was soaked through to her dress with dried red blood. Zack was realizing that Kyli had been severely hurt. Strangely, Kyli was moving as if nothing had happened to her.

Zack reached for Kyli's left hand. “Oh my god!-” Zack coughed. He had exerted himself too much. “What happened to you?”

“Well, he was about six foot tall with dark hair and a black suit.” Kyli smiled.

“Orhn did this to you?” Zack asked.

“Who else do you think could have down this to me?” Kyli switched hands holding the ice pack on her neck. She took something out of the glove compartment on Zack's side of the car. It was also chilled like a small refrigerator. This was definitely a unique car. Kyli poked a straw into the top of the pouch she had taken out and drank a bit.

Inside was a dark liquid. Zack couldn’t see what it was exactly. It was familiar to him, though he didn't know why. After a few sips, Kyli took the pouch to her teeth and ripped it open with ease. She dipped her right index finger into it and smeared it into the wound.

“Is that sanitary?” Zack squirmed.

“Relax, you're next.” Kyli put the small pouch into the middle compartment.

“What do you mean by next?” Zack leaned back. “What is that?”

“Trust me, it will help. Does it matter what it is?” Kyli replied.

“Well, if you put it that way.” Zack became quiet.

“Then calm down. We're about to leave." Kyli said to shut Zack up.

It didn't work. “Did he cut you? He didn’t have a knife on him when he was with me.” The type of injury was far different from what he had done to Zack.

Kyli sighed. “He bit me, Zack. What did you think he’d do?” Kyli said it as a matter of plain fact. Not as the random, out of place, strange thing that it was. She spoke as if it was a common occurrence.

“He bit you!? What the hell? Are you alright?” Zack had no appreciation for the little subtleties Kyli was trying to impress upon him.

Kyli was getting irritated by Zack. “Listen, I saved you didn’t I? It stands to reason that I wouldn't have been able to do that if I didn't know I had a chance at saving you, right? That I had an idea of what I was getting into?” Kyli tilted her neck away from the gash. “See for yourself, Zack. I’ll be okay by morning.” It was healing. Kyli was calm about it all. Not seeing a need to worry about anything.

Meanwhile Zack was sequentially freaking out with every answered question. “But your neck, you need to go to the hospital.” Zack wasn’t thinking about himself anymore.

“That’s sweet Zack. But I don’t think they’d know what to do with me.” Kyli smirked.

Zack didn't understand what she was trying to tell him.

“As I said, I'll be fine soon. Besides, you’re the one with two broken bones.” Kyli stared at Zack. “That was still sweet though.”

Kyli put her right hand onto Zack’s left cheek. It was surprisingly warm. It felt good to him. For a little moment Zack thought Kyli was going to kiss him. That he was having a tender scene with her. Right up until the second Kyli used her thumb to lift up Zack’s lip and check his teeth. She did it in the same fashion Orhn did in the warehouse. Zack pulled back, swatting Kyli's hand away.