“How do you know this?” I asked.
“Pete's men have been running reconnaissance for us, all communications come directly through him and no one else.”
That made sense, he would probably see the advantage of continuing to help us. Jonathan and the Queen were both unknown threats, vampires capable of controlling his ghouls. Outside of Michel's line, the ghouls were still susceptible to vampire influence. He would prefer Michel to remain in control of the city for the freedom of his community.
“Are we safe here?” I asked the obvious. Just because Michel's vampires couldn't influence the ghouls, didn't mean that the visitors could not. Were we safe? Could they divulge our location to the enemy?
“It is a concern. But this house is unknown to any of Pete's ghouls currently in the city. Jonathan or the Queen would have to influence Pete himself, in order to find us. But, in saying that, we must remain on guard. It is a possibility.”
I blew a breath out, knowing with my current run of luck, we would be attacked, I wasn't sure if I had the energy for that.
“For now, let's just rest and conserve energy. We may need it before the day is through,” Doug concluded.
My stomach rumbled, I felt like shit, but there was nothing else for it. Shane showed me to the bathroom, simply removing my hand cuffs with a flick of his wrist. I guess even Shane has some Nosferatu mojo, even though he's far from master material. The vampires had all had enough time to shower and freshen up while I had been asleep, so now it was thankfully my turn. Luckily, the vamps had been kind and not bothered with too much heat in their showers. Leaving some in the cylinder, allowing me to have a hot soak under a slightly pathetic spray, but it was bliss. It was also heaven when Michel finally reached my thoughts.
Ma douce, are you OK?
I lost my grip on the soap I had been lathering up with when his voice popped into my head. Although we can talk to each other over distance, it requires an awful lot of power and neither of us had any to spare. The fact that he was able to reach me again, meant he was close. If not already landed, definitely not far from our shores.
I'm in the shower,
I answered, still battling to pick up the soap, it was the only thing that came to mind.
Really?
c
ame his languid reply.
Alone, I hope?
I smiled.
Yep. Just me and a bar of soap.
Mm. A pleasant thought.
There was silence as he sent me a series of suggestions via technicolour images as to what I should be doing with that bar of soap.
Michel. I'm going to run out of hot water before you even get through with those.
I heard his laughter in my mind, filling me up with happiness and wrapping me in warmth.
I will keep you hot, ma douce.
I shook my head and finished rinsing the soap off, then turning the taps closed, stepped out to dry and dress. It might have been nice to spend a half hour sharing thoughts and images with Michel in my head, but I was not entirely safe and being attacked while naked and wet, was not my idea of fun. I am a Nosferatin first and foremost, I was still definitely in battle mode, even if the temptation was huge.
How far away are you?
I asked, slipping into my dirty and crumpled clothing again.
We are about to land. You are in Eden Terrace?
He'd obviously been in touch with Doug and the others.
Yes, but we'll no doubt move on as soon as the sun sets, I don't feel safe here.
I agree. I will find you, stay hidden. We will be together again before you know it.
He had no idea how much that meant to me right now. I was so exhausted and battered and needed my kindred even more than I needed a hamburger and fries right now. And that was saying something, my stomach was in full-on grumble mode.
Ah, ma douce. Your thoughts are sweet music in my mind.
You can hear me, are you that close?
Oui. And they are beautiful. Je t'aime.
And before I could reply, he was gone.
I threw the damp towel in the corner of the bathroom with the handful that already rested there and stepped back out into the room. A dozen eyes swung towards me, all blazing a little eerily red.
“What's with the glow, dudes?” I asked, wondering if we were under attack or not.
“The master is having trouble shielding his thoughts from us,” Doug offered, lowering his head so he couldn't look me in the eye.
“What does that mean?” I asked slowly, really,
really
, hoping it didn't mean what I thought it would.
No one answered me at first, all of them trying to look anywhere else but at my face. It
wasn't helping the sense of oh-my-God I had going on, that was for sure. Of course, it was Marcus who had the balls to speak up.
“I didn't realise you could do that with a bar of soap,” he said innocently and flicked me a none-to-subtle red glowing gaze.
“Fuck you!” I managed, reaching for an empty bottle to throw at his enormously satisfied face. The crash of the glass against the wall was way louder than it should have been, I mean it was just a
Steinlager
bottle, no more than 300 odd millilitres in size. But the noise it created, made us all stand stock still.
Until we realised, it wasn't just the bottle.
It was a horde of influenced ghouls bashing down the front door and crawling through the now shattered windows.
No. My luck couldn't possibly be changing.
Michel's vampires were in battle mode immediately. A shout from Doug to protect me, had me throwing him a scowl over my shoulder while I was palming a slim silver knife in one hand and a short silver dagger in the other. I could take care of myself, thank you very much.
Marcus and Matthias were beside me in an instant, Samson somewhere behind and we all fell into a routine, if you will, of slashing and guarding, attacking and retreating. A deadly dance with lethal repercussions against ghouls that should have been on our side.
As much as I would have liked to tell the vampires around me to
not
shoot to kill, it was impossible not to land a few deadly blows. We were fighting in a confined space against crazed and blood thirsty ghouls. Even if I knew they belonged to Pete, I was not offering myself up for dinner. Ghouls fight rough, no rules, all strength and brute force, their only goal, to bite and chew and then quickly follow that up with a swallow.
I hadn't even realised what Matthias and Marcus were doing until it was too late. We'd carved a path through the ghouls in the lounge and kitchen and ended up by the back door. Before I had a chance to protest, Marcus had thrown himself through the still closed door and Matthias was pushing me after him. We'd made it out of the building, but not out of the battle. Just as many ghouls surrounded the house as those inside keeping Doug and the rest of the vamps busy. The only difference here, was that the sun - although low in the sky and shielded behind a scattering of clouds, was still shining - and the vamps at my side had started to slowly fry.
I wondered briefly if that would put the ghouls off, they do like their meals raw and a barbecued vampire wasn't exactly a fresh temptation. But then that only made me feel like the prime rib on the plate, the one they all would fight over, so pushed that thought aside and concentrated on getting us out of this mess.
Unfortunately, my Light does squat to ghouls, its only purpose is to bring vampires back from the Dark, so that left silver, or now that we had a bit more space to manoeuvre, my Svante sword. I sheathed the dagger and pulled out the sword in one swift motion, slicing the head off a ghoul as it tried to take advantage of my weapons change and came a little too close.
“Nice,” I heard Marcus shout beside me, before punching a ghoul in the side of the temple and sending him flying.
M & M
sensed I needed a little more room to swing my Svante than I had for my dagger, so slowly moved further away. Samson had made it outside now and took up guard at the rear, also giving me space and then it was game on. As if we'd fought together a million times before, all three vampires set the ghouls up, like a volleyball team, one vamp swatting a ghoul towards my reach, so then I could finish it off with a clean swipe of the sword. Each vampire timing it, so only one ghoul advanced at a time into my spider's web.
Within ten minutes, we had cleared the back garden enough to see the fence and although I was determined to stay and fight every single one of them, ensuring the vampires still trapped in the house could break free, Marcus and Matthias had other thoughts. And when a gap appeared and the ghouls were immobilised for the time being, they simply picked me up under each armpit and ran across the backyard, vaulting the fence in unison and flashing away from the scene.
“What the fuck?” I shouted as we careened down the side streets of Eden Terrace, Samson coming up the rear. “Put me down, you idiots!”
“Doug has it hand,” Matthias calmly told me, neither vamp releasing their grip nor slowing their pace.
I gave up struggling five minutes later, just simply running out of juice. My intent to continue to give the two vampires at my side a thrashing was still well and truly there, but the body's willpower to carry out my commands was gone. I was beyond exhausted. Hungry. In pain. Tired. The thought that we would have to hide and probably continue to run for some time yet, simply sapping the last of my anger and resolve.
When they sensed my capitulation, they stopped briefly for Matthias to take me in his arms and then all three picked up speed and the world was again a blur. I vaguely recognised a few landmarks, a
McDonald's
coming into focus, then more blurs, then at last they must have determined we were far enough away and our tracks well enough covered, for us to stop and take shelter. The form of which was a storage shed behind the Auckland Museum in the Domain.
The sun had set some time ago, I had no idea when, but the Museum was closed for the day and the storage shed quiet and empty of Norms. Matthias propped me down on a padded seat in the corner and then collapsed against the wall. He could have kept running all night, but we'd been running in sunlight. All three vamps looked a little worse for wear. Samson shuffled across the dusty floor and plopped a
McDonald's
bag full of the sweet smell of burger and fries into my lap. Then he simply slid to his knees at my feet and rested his head against my shins.
Shit. They'd pushed themselves to the limit to protect me.
I glanced over at Marcus, who had the door slightly ajar and was resting on the floor, looking equally as shot as his mates, but determined to keep a look out on the darkening expanse of the park outside.
For all the exhaustion and aches and pains I was feeling, the sensation of affection for these vampires with me now, outweighed all of that. For a moment I couldn't think or move, just let the deep seated feeling of respect and warmth towards the three of them engulf me, and then my stomach rumbled and I hungrily opened the bag to stodgy fast-food heaven. The burger lasted all of 20 seconds, the fries a little longer and finally I was done. A greasy, sated, fat-filled joy washing over me.
“What about you guys? You need to feed?” I asked into the dimmed silence.
“You offering a vein?” Marcus replied, Samson growled in response, stiffening at my feet.
“We're fine, Luce. We'll feed when reinforcements arrive,” Matthias interrupted what was undoubtedly going to become a pissing contest between my guard at the door and my vampire at my feet.
“How long? You all look like shit.”
“Not long now,” Matthias answered. “Michel is close.”
I felt him then, almost as though he was responding to Matthias' statement of how close he was. He was already in the Domain and cautiously approaching. I felt a tingle run through my body at the nearness of him and had to consciously pull my Light back in, as it threatened to blind us all in the shed.
“Whoa,” Marcus remarked, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at me. “I'd love to see how bright you get when he's right on top of you.”
I was about to answer with a sharp witted retort, when Michel appeared at the door and swept him off the floor, his hand at his throat as he stepped over the threshold into the shed.
“A sight I am sure you will not live to see.”
“Master,” he croaked in reply, trying to look contrite, but unable to lower his head enough to get away with it.
Matthias was on his feet immediately, standing respectfully still, Samson just shifted to my side and stood slowly. A measure of respect in his stance, but still a protective position next to me.
“Michel,” I whispered, not to get him to stop, not to tell him to behave, but simply because I couldn't help myself from saying his name out loud.
He lowered Marcus to the ground and looked him directly in the eye. “You may go feed,” he stated simply, a command to all three of the vampires in the room. None of them hesitated, not even Samson and within seconds we were alone. Michel slowly shut the door behind him, no doubt his own guards surrounding the shed and keeping a watchful eye. And then he turned towards me, letting a wash of amethyst, violet, indigo and then magenta flash through his eyes.
“
Ma douce,
” he husked, then flashed to my side. His hands coming up to touch my face, almost shaking as he reached for me, then slowly covering my body from head to toe. His
Sanguis Vitam
filling the air, my shields lowering automatically to let him in and his healing power touching all of the aches and pains, scrapes and bruises, cuts and gouges, and smoothing them away.
He sat at my feet for a moment, just looking at me, both of us stuck fast in a moment we couldn't have broken free of, even if we had wanted to. Just taking each other in, soaking up every feature, memorising every plane, unable to pull away.
“
Mon Dieu,
” he whispered. “You are beautiful.”
I smiled down at him. “You seem surprised.”
“Not surprised,
ma belle
, in wonder, in awe, that you should be mine.”
“If I'm yours, then why haven't you kissed me yet?” I breathed in reply.
His lips quirked a little at that. “Perhaps I wish to take things slowly.”
“We don't have time for slow.”
His smile widened and he flashed a hint of amethyst in the deepened blue that had returned to his eyes. “As always,
ma douce
, you are correct.” He rose up and wrapped me in his arms, his lips smoothly finding mine, softly brushing against my mouth and then quickly deepening when my own lips parted, letting him in.
He softly groaned against my mouth and pulled me off the padded seat I had been perched upon and into his lap, regardless of the less than clean floor he was kneeling on. His hand running up my back into my hair and wrapping around the strands, anchoring himself there, the other smoothly stroking over my hip and stomach and coming up to find my breast and nipple under my T-Shirt.
His lips began spraying my face with feather-light kisses, across my cheeks, over my jaw and then down to his new mark at the base of my neck. His face nuzzling in against the colourful
Sigillum
there, his voice muffled as he spoke.
“I want you so badly,
ma douce
, but we simply do not have time. I promise I will make it up to you when this night is through. But, for now we must regroup and attack before they realise we have returned.”
Logically, I couldn't argue with him, even if my body screamed out in protest against his hard, broad chest. I wanted him so badly, I didn't give a toss we were in some old mucky shed in the middle of the city within spitting distance of evil and the threat of the Dark. I even resented a little, the fact that Michel was a master tactician, a warrior at heart, that even with me in his arms he was thinking of the battle, survival at all costs. It was unfair of me, Michel would devour me in an instant, if it were safe for us to entertain such pastimes, but it was not. I should have been grateful that at least one of us was thinking with their head and not some other part of their body, but I wasn't. I'd nearly died while he was gone, he'd nearly died while he was gone, I wanted to feel alive and I wanted to feel it with him.
“Oh,
ma douce
, you are breaking my heart.”
There was a knock on the door, before I could even formulate an answer to that statement. I wasn't sure if Michel had planned it, telepathically ordered a vampire to interrupt. Maybe he didn't have the strength to deny me on his own and needed a little help to pull away. Either way, it worked. I stiffened, he pulled back and the door opened to reveal Jett.
“Master. We need to discuss plans. The night is progressing and we may not remain safe here for much longer.”
“Of course,” Michel answered helping me to my feet and brushing a kiss over my forehead. “Bring the others in.”
Jett turned away and Michel lifted my face up to his with a tilt of my chin. “I will make it up to you,
ma douce,
” he whispered, low enough for only me to hear.
“Promise?” I asked, letting a small smile play on my lips. I couldn't stay mad at Michel for long.
“Cross my heart,” he said with a wink and even did the action over his chest, as five of his top vampires piled into the little shed. I could still sense twenty more out in the night and knew he probably had more further afield as well.
Michel spun towards the others as Jett closed the door behind him and someone flicked the light switch in the corner of the room. The vampires spread out and made themselves comfortable around the room, all of them looking in top condition. You'd have no idea they had recently fought a battle in America, but then they'd had a flight on a luxury jet to recover since then.
Michel sat down in the padded seat I had been on, the only real chair in the room and pulled me back into his lap, his arms coming around my waist protectively. He may not have allowed our passions to take over, but he wasn't prepared to let me out of his touch.
I glanced around the room taking in the vampires, the ones he usually had at his side when business called, be it his run of mill every day operations, or in times of crises, like now.
One of them was Doug. No surprises there. He was the highest ranking vampire in Michel's line left behind, the one in touch with what had been happening in Auckland in his absence. I absently thought Erika was usually at these meetings, but then maybe she had been left behind in America, to clean up the mess there. I'd get a chance to ask after her in due course, for now, Michel's men had started giving their reports.
“Latest report from Enrique, is the Nosferatins have been released and attended to. They will be sent to their respective homes in due course,” a vampire by the name of Arturo offered from the corner, his big bulk squashed between a work bench and a packing crate.