Liquid crimson (14 page)

He stared down at Gunnar. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Get out!” Gunnar growled.

“No. I won’t leave you like this.”

“Then bend down and let me bite you. I would rather be dead than live like this,” Gunnar said.

“That’s what Neo thought, too, but I’m glad he never succeeded in killing himself.” Michael reached out and grasped the edge of the table for support as the lack of food, water and blood caught up with him. “I would never forgive myself if you died because of me,” he managed to say.

Loud noises from above startled Michael, making him jump. After a few seconds, he slumped to the floor, his reserve energy gone. “
Neo’s
here,” he managed to say before closing his eyes.

* * * *

While Kildare’s men and guards from the Realm battled the vampires from
LaMont’s
coven, Neo scanned the large room for Richard and Cedric. “Where would they be hiding?” he asked
Audric
.

Audric
squeaked when one of his own coven grabbed him. Neo took care of the vampire with ease, lopping off his head with a borrowed sword. “Talk,” Neo ordered
Audric
.

The small, frightened vampire recoiled from the headless body as it fell to the floor. “Probably in the dungeon.” He motioned towards a hallway. “Third door on the right.”

Neo looked around. He couldn’t check two places at once, but the only guards not engaged in fighting the coven were wolves. Motioning for Kern, Neo addressed
Audric
. “Stick close to Kern.”

As soon as Kern made his way across the room, Neo subtly pushed
Audric
towards him. “Watch him. When Ramiro gets a break, send him downstairs.”

Kern nodded and backed
Audric
into an alcove to the side of the large reception room.

With
Audric
taken care of, Neo set out to find his mate. Sword in hand, he scanned his surroundings as he made his way down the hall. Before opening the door to the dungeon, as
Audric
had called it, Neo pressed his ear against the door. An ambush by Cedric and Richard would only jeopardise his chance of getting Michael and Gunnar out alive.

The noise coming from the battle raging down the hall precluded Neo from hearing anything beyond the heavy wooden door. He held his sword aloft and opened the door in one swift movement, prepared to destroy anyone who dared get in his way.

A winding staircase of stone was all that greeted him. Satisfied, Neo made his way down the steps with his back against the wall. The smells wafting up from below were a combination of must, moisture, blood and his mate. Gunnar’s screams echoed in the cavernous space, setting Neo further on edge.

A noise sounded from the top of the steps and Neo turned, his sword at the ready.

“It’s me,” Ramiro whispered, coming into view.

Neo nodded and continued his descent into the bowels of
LaMont’s
sadistic playground. With each step the aroma of blood, both old and new, grew stronger. How many people had been tortured within the stone walls of the dungeon? He definitely agreed with
Audric
on the description of the lower level.

Although not the dungeon he’d been imprisoned in, the aged stone walls gave off a wet, musty smell that brought back memories Neo had tried for hundreds of years to forget. The Realm guards rushing in to rescue him, the fury in
LaMont’s
eyes as metal stakes were driven through his hands and feet to pin him to the same table where he’d tortured Neo. The delight Neo had taken in slowly, painfully, removing
LaMont’s
head from his body still haunted him. He’d retreated to life on the vineyard almost immediately, afraid he’d become the monster
LaMont
set out to create. It wasn’t until he’d opened himself to Michael’s love that he knew the man he once was, was still inside of him.

At the bottom of the staircase, Neo once again prepared himself for battle. He tried to block out Gunnar’s cries as he concentrated on finding the vampires he was after. With Ramiro watching his back, Neo made his way through the maze of rooms, stopping in each one. Richard and Cedric had to be there somewhere. They wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of kidnapping Michael if they planned to run at the first hint of a rescue attempt.

Ramiro elbowed Neo and pointed towards a hallway. “Fresh blood,” he whispered.

Neo nodded. He’d known the moment he stepped into the dungeon where Michael and Gunnar were being held. “We need to find Cedric and Richard.”

Rumbling laughter rolled its way down the passageway.

Neo knew that laugh.
Cedric.
Evidently Neo wasn’t the only one to recognise Francois’ first creation. Ramiro stepped in front of Neo and unsheathed his other sword.

“So glad you brought my favourite toy back for me to play with,” Cedric said.

“Fuck you,” Ramiro spat, moving down the hall.

Neo glanced at Ramiro. What was the connection between the two vampires? Gunnar’s screams began again.
Neo’s
head of security never acknowledged pain or injuries, so whatever Gunnar was experiencing had to be bad. The cries threatened to drag Neo down into the hole he’d only just begun to climb out of. Memories of having sheets of skin slowly stripped from his body by Francois assaulted him. Yes, he’d screamed in a similar fashion. So much blood. Hunger unlike anything he’d ever known. Francois lapping at the blood as it flowed freely from
Neo’s
wounds.

A charging cry from Ramiro snapped Neo out of the scream-induced trance he’d suddenly found himself in. Although he reacted quickly, Ramiro was already in the room when Neo caught up.

“Don’t move a muscle,” Cedric growled, the tip of an ornately carved dagger pressing against Michael’s throat.

Dropping his sword,
Neo’s
eyes narrowed as his body began to transform into the creature he detested. In the past, he’d lost control and slipped into a partial shift but never had he allowed himself to lose complete and utter control over his own body. The sight of his mate, unconscious, and at Cedric’s mercy, was more than the monster hidden within Neo could handle.

With Gunnar screaming to be fed in the background, Neo raced forward at the speed of light. He grabbed Cedric by the throat and threw him against the far wall, utilising the superior strength given to him by his father. As the mortar around the stones crumbled upon impact, the centuries-old wall began to topple, one stone at a time.

Cedric rolled away from the falling wall, but Neo was one step ahead of him. He reached for Cedric once more and dug his nails into the life-giving veins in the vampire’s neck, throwing him towards a starving Gunnar. “Feed what you made,” Neo growled at Cedric.

Ramiro was already beside Gunnar and managed to catch the flying body. He pressed Cedric’s open wound against Gunnar’s mouth. Because of the temperature of the blood, it wasn’t ordinary for vampires to feed from one another but it was better than watching Gunnar go insane.

Gunnar used his fangs to rip and shred the flesh, gulping the recycled blood from Cedric’s veins.

Neo bent and scooped Michael off the cold floor and into his arms. Michael’s beating heart soothed
Neo’s
fears, although he longed to see his mate’s big blue eyes. With Michael hugged against his chest, Neo returned his attention to Cedric who was quickly becoming drained.

“Can you take care of this?” he asked Ramiro.

Ramiro nodded. “I’ll finish him off once Gunnar’s had enough.”

“Get Gunnar back to the vineyard as quickly as you can. Cedric’s blood won’t sustain him for long.”

“I remember,” Ramiro replied, breaking Cedric’s arm when the fool had the nerve to swing at him.

The satisfying crack as Cedric’s bone snapped, pleased Neo.
LaMont’s
coven had committed unspeakable acts, and they deserved everything they got.

“I’ll get Michael to safety and come back for Richard. He’s got to be here somewhere. Neo placed a kiss to Michael’s forehead before hoisting him over his shoulder. He retrieved his sword and concentrated on home.

* * * *

Michael woke in his father’s arms. “Neo?”

“He’ll be back,” Spiro whispered in a soothing tone. “There’s still one vampire of
LaMont’s
original coven unaccounted for.”

The earlier events slowly came back to Michael. He sat up and turned to face Spiro. “Did you know my blood would melt iron?”

“No, but that doesn’t surprise me. Iron is the only thing that can truly hold a vampire. Because Neo ingests your blood, iron will no longer have that affect on him.”

Michael rose from the bed and crossed the room. He entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him. After drinking directly from the faucet, he closed the lid on the toilet and sat down. Although he was glad Neo could no longer be held captive, Michael began to question their relationship.
Does he really love me?

More and more Michael was beginning to feel like nothing more than a vessel, created to give Neo back all that had been taken from him.
Is that my only purpose in
Neo’s
life?
Michael wanted to mean more to Neo than what was contained within his veins.

He wasn’t sure how long he pondered the question before giving up. In the end, he was no closer to coming up with an answer than he’d been to begin with. Staring down at his healing wrist, he rose and approached the sink once more. As the warm water ran over the angry red skin, he studied himself in the mirror. The reflexion looking back at him shocked Michael. Gone was the twenty-five year old face he’d become accustomed to. Michael turned off the water and reached up to run his fingers over the lines around his eyes. He was aging, rapidly.

With water still dripping from his hands, Michael walked back into the bedroom. “What’s happening to me? I look as though I’ve aged ten years.”

Spiro, who had turned his attention to
Sema
, refused to look at Michael. “You’ve been through a horrific ordeal. You need sleep and food.”

Michael could tell by Spiro’s body language that he wasn’t telling the truth. “Father?”

Eventually Spiro glanced up from
Sema’s
thick, black coat to meet Michael’s gaze. “I can’t tell you more. I’m sorry.” Spiro’s eyes filled with tears. “I
will
tell you that Neo has some hard choices ahead of him. I pray that he truly has changed since you came here to live.”

Chapter Nine

By the time Neo returned to the chalet, the fight was over.
LaMont’s
headless coven littered the floor in every direction while the guards from the Realm and Clan of Kildare stood at attention, awaiting their new orders.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he studied the room. Something wasn’t right. Turning towards the alcove where he’d left
Audric
,
Neo’s
chest tightened. He raced across the room, stepping over bodies on his way to the empty alcove. Other than a small pool of blood on the floor and several drops leading away from the alcove, there were no signs of
Audric
or Kern.

“One of you go to Le
Uve
del
Regno
and bring Haig back here at once,” Neo ordered. He didn’t turn around to see if his order had been followed. It was expected. Neo might not officially rule the Realm, but issuing orders seemed to come naturally. Perhaps Spiro was right, he had been born to lead.

Neo walked in the direction of the trail of blood. His gut told him Richard was nowhere on the premises, but he needed to make sure before bringing the house down. He spun around to address the rest of the vampires. “I want every inch of this house searched.”

The vampires scattered in their haste to follow orders.

Neo stood with his hands clasped behind his back. How would he explain Kern’s disappearance to Haig? Bringing Kern to watch over
Audric
had been a stupid move, but he’d agreed when Kern offered his services.

“Where is he?” Haig’s booming voice said from behind Neo.

“That’s what I’m hoping you can help me with,” Neo answered. Were-Human’s had a special bond with their mates that went beyond anything the other Blessed Creatures experienced.

Neo glanced at the alcove. Now came the really hard part. “I’m hoping you can track them through the blood.”

Haig’s nostrils flared. “He had no business here,” he growled.

Neo nodded his understanding, but refused to apologise. He hadn’t ordered Kern to accompany the group in their rescue operation. “Can you find them?”

Haig squatted and inhaled. “It’s not Kern’s blood, its
Audric’s
.”

Neo began to pace back and forth. If Kern wasn’t physically hurt, it could only mean one thing, he’d been charmed. It was against the laws of the Blessed Creatures to use their gifts to mentally control another. The
 
notion that a vampire like Richard had done it anyway shouldn’t have surprised Neo but it did.

“Can you find them?” he asked again.

Haig closed his eyes, obviously searching out his mate. “They’re not here, but they’re close.” Haig opened his eyes and strode towards the window. “Out there somewhere. The
sun’ll
be coming up soon so there has to be something underground.”