Liquid crimson (13 page)

Audric’s
eyes filled with tears. “Your friend put up a fight. The rest of my family were not kind to him.”

“Is he dead?” Michael asked.

“He probably wishes he were, but no. They…changed him.”

“He’s wolf. How is that possible?” Michael had never heard of a were creature being turned into a vampire.

“Francois was very skilled in the black arts,
and
he had good students. He managed to change the son of Zeus. Do you really think changing a wolf would be a challenge for his students?”

“Why change Gunnar and not me?” Michael asked.

“They want your friend for his strength and because he’s a friend to Neo. You,”
Audric
shook his head, “they can’t change. One of my coven tried and died for his efforts. The others are afraid of you.”

Michael vaguely remembered the screams of a man in pain after he was first brought in. “My blood.”

Audric
nodded.

“That’s two of you I’ve managed to kill without even trying. Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“I am,”
Audric
confessed. “But I’m more afraid of what you’ll do to me if I don’t help you escape.”

“Smart man,” Michael said.

“No. If I were smart I would’ve never allowed myself to be captured by Francois in the first place.”
Audric
crouched down in front of Michael. “I also hoped you’d protect me if I got away.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” Michael’s gut instinct told him
Audric
was sincere, but it could also be a trick. He sighed. Why would
Audric
need to trick him? It was obvious the coven already knew where Neo lived.

Audric
shrugged and started chewing on his thumbnail. “I don’t know. I mean, why would you, right?” Those big green eyes stared into Michael’s. “I’m tired of being afraid. They…hurt me when they get bored because they know I can’t do anything about it.”

Michael swallowed around the lump in his throat. He’d thought
Neo’s
story was the saddest thing he’d ever heard, but
Audric
was still living the life Neo had escaped from. In that moment, Michael knew he’d do everything in his power to protect
Audric
. “Go to Neo. Tell him I told you the story about my friend, Tim, who lost his leg.”

“What’s the story?”
Audric
asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Just tell him what I told you.”

“But you haven’t told me. What if he asks me questions, and I can’t answer them?”
Audric
started on his other thumb, chewing the nail down to the quick.

If Michael didn’t know better, he would have thought
Audric
was the younger man of the two of them. He wanted to ask, but by the way
Audric
kept looking over his shoulder and jumping at every little noise, their time was evidently limited. Hopefully they would have a chance to talk once they were both safe.

“If Neo tries to question you further, just tell him that I said ‘Baby and Fido need him to listen’. Will you do that?”

Audric
nodded. “I need to go while they’re busy trying to figure out what to try on you next.”

Although the statement was made with remorse, the gravity of the situation hit Michael like a ton of bricks. Despite the heavy manacle and chain around his wrist, Michael reached out and placed a hand on
Audric’s
thin shoulder. “Go.” He tried to give
Audric
an encouraging smile, but he knew it fell short.

The beatings made sense. They weren’t trying to simply torture him. The
LaMont
coven wanted him dead. Michael sighed. The bigger question was why hadn’t they succeeded?

* * * *

After the sun dipped below the horizon, Neo opened the heavy curtains in his study. He’d found out quickly that without Michael’s daily feeding, he could no longer tolerate the sunlight. Slumping back down into his chair, he sipped at the thick donor blood, closing his eyes each time he brought the glass to his mouth. He needed his wits and Liquid Crimson had dulled his mind for far too many years. If he was to get Michael back, he needed his strength.

Neo set the glass down and concentrated on the roaring blaze in the fireplace. Several realisations had come to him over the past few days. First and foremost, he was stronger than he’d ever been since making himself stomach undiluted human blood. Although the Liquid Crimson was far more palatable, it had made him weak.

A knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. He quickly finished his dinner before setting the glass on the floor beside him, out of sight. “Come in.”

As soon as the door opened, Neo smelled his mate. His eyes narrowed as Ramiro led
Audric
into the room. In the blink of an eye, Neo was in front of the man he’d seen hiding in the shadows behind Francois for those torturous years he’d been held captive.

Fangs extended, Neo reached for
Audric’s
throat. It was only Ramiro’s strength that kept him from decapitating
Audric
with his bare hands.

“Wait!” Ramiro shouted. “He’s here to help us. He has a message from Michael.”

Neo’s
jaws were so tight in his anger it took a moment to unclench them enough to speak again. “Talk,” he commanded.

“He said to tell you something about his friend Tim who lost a leg.”

Neo’s
fangs retracted. “Go on.”

Audric’s
Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed several times before continuing. “He also said Baby and Fido need you to listen.”

Neo nearly gasped at the term of endearment he used for Michael. He actually smiled when he thought about Michael calling Gunnar Fido, which he’d done on several occasions. It was obvious
Audric
had gained Michael’s trust, but was the vampire honestly worthy of such a gift?

“Where are they?” Neo asked, taking a step back.

“Outside of Kiev in the Ukraine.
LaMont
owned a large chalet on the Desna River. That’s where you’ll find them.”
Audric
glanced over his shoulder at Ramiro. “I’m afraid you need to hurry. They have already turned your security man into one of us.”

Neo’s
breath caught in his chest. As much as the thought of Gunnar living through the change hurt, Neo knew Michael would never survive the pain that accompanied it. “And Michael?”

Audric
shook his head. “Sebastian tried to change him but met his death instead.”
Audric
finished the sentence with a slight grin. “It was most delightful to witness.”

“His blood?” Neo asked.

Audric
nodded and turned serious once again. “They’re angry with him and have tried several times to kill him.”

Neo grabbed his chest, rubbing at the unseen band constricting his breathing. Did he want to know?
No. Not now.
Still, the question remained. “Why have they been unsuccessful?”

Audric
shook his head. “I don’t know and neither do they, but that won’t stop them from continuing to try. That’s why we need to hurry.”

“How many? Just the two left?”

“No. Richard, Cedric, Sebastian and Liam continued Francois’ work, but the three remain in charge, leading an army of thirty men. All insane, all powerful.”

Neo turned to address Ramiro. “How many men can you gather?”

Ramiro rubbed the back of his neck. “It would be close, but I think calling in help from the Realm would be a smart move. Not only will we have additional back-up, we’ll also have the approval of the Realm to take whatever measures are necessary without repercussions.”

Neo headed towards the door. “I’ll make the arrangements with Spiro. You contact Ian.”

“What should I do?”
Audric
asked.

Neo stopped. He’d forgotten about
Audric
. Although the vampire had been a big help, Neo still wasn’t convinced he could be trusted. He pulled out his phone and called Haig.

“Yes?” Haig answered from outside the house.

“I need you and Kern to guard someone while I make a few arrangements to rescue Michael and Gunnar.”

“We’ll be right there,” Haig answered before hanging up.

Neo looked at Ramiro. “Stay with
Audric
until Haig and Kern get here.”

The expression on
Audric’s
face fell. It was obvious that he knew he wasn’t trusted.

“I’m sorry,” Neo felt compelled to say.

“I understand,”
Audric
mumbled, chin dropping to his chest.

Confident that the situation in his study was under control, Neo went to the spare bedroom. He opened the door without knocking and found Spiro tending to
Sema
. Although the gorgeous black jaguar’s wounds had been healed by Spiro, the cat was still weak.

Neo approached the bed. “I need your help.”

Dragging his fingers through
Sema’s
thick black pelt, Spiro glanced up. “Anything.”

* * * *

Hours after
Audric
left, Gunnar’s screams began again. Michael fought against the iron restraints, agonised that he could not help his friend. Now that he knew what had been done to Gunnar, he was even angrier. Gunnar had been an alpha, proud of his werewolf heritage. As far as Michael knew, there were no other were/vampire hybrids. What would his new status do to Gunnar’s zest for life?

Michael looked down at his nude body. He thought about the way the knife Cedric had plunged into his stomach had melted like chocolate. Would his blood do the same to the manacles holding him prisoner?

Michael held up his arm and stared at the veins on the inside of his wrist. He took a deep breath. Thinking about chewing your arm until it bled and actually doing it were two entirely different things.

Gunnar’s screams came again, making up Michael’s mind. He laid his arm on the stone floor and pushed the iron as far up his arm as it would go, knowing the skin on his wrist was thinner.
If only I had
Neo’s
razor-sharp teeth
, he thought, getting into position.

Laying on his right side, Michael positioned the skin between his top and bottom canine teeth, and waited. As soon as Gunnar started to scream again, Michael bit down as hard as he could, using Gunnar’s anguish not only to help hide his own cry of pain but as incentive to do the job until it was finished.

Although the pain wasn’t as bad as what had been meted out at the hands of Richard and Cedric, Michael started to doubt that he could actually go through with it. He was moments away from giving up when his teeth pierced a vein and the warm, coppery liquid filled his mouth. He spat the blood on the manacle holding his left wrist and nodded when it started to smoke. “Come on. Come on.”

He leant down and sucked another mouthful of blood before moving the restraint on his right wrist to slide over the open and bleeding wound. He turned his head away from the awful smell of the disintegrating iron and dripped the blood in his mouth onto the other manacle.

The fumes were almost overpowering but it was starting to work. Michael open and closed his fist, hoping there would be enough blood to do the job. When he was at last free of his restraints, it took him several moments to stand. The days without food or water were further weakening his already lean body. Using the wall for support, Michael made it to the large wooden door.

The blood flow on his wrist was already slowing to a trickle. With no other option, Michael once again bit into the sore and tender flesh, renewing the strong flow of his toxic blood. He smeared as much on the door as he could gather but nothing happened. “Shit.”

With his hands braced on the door, Michael tried to think. Why had it worked before? As he stood there feeling his whole plan slip through his fingers, a single drop of blood landed on the iron door handle. Michael grinned when he watched the blood start to bubble and the handle smoke. He stepped back and studied the door, three hinges but only one lock. The choice seemed obvious and he squeezed his wrist until the wound began to drip once more.

In no time he was out the door and running towards Gunnar’s incessant screaming. Four doors down, Michael tore at the wound and smeared his blood across the door handle. “I’m coming,” he whispered.

His hands began to shake when he heard voices heading his way.
No. No.
Michael used every ounce of his strength to push the door open, the handle falling to the floor with a loud clink.

“Stay away!” Gunnar growled in a half vampire, half wolf garble.

Michael’s heart skipped a beat at his first look at the creature his friend had become. “It’s okay. I’ll get you out of here.”

“Kill me,” Gunnar pleaded. “Please. Before I kill you. They refuse to feed me,” Gunnar managed to say well enough for Michael to understand.

Michael shook his head. “I won’t kill you.” He studied the iron stakes pinning Gunnar to the wooden table, unsure of how to proceed. If he
dripped
his blood onto the iron it would come into contact with Gunnar’s flesh. Michael had seen, first hand, what his blood did to others.