Sweet Cravings (13 page)

Ty froze, giving no signs of pain or anger. Impassive, emotionless.

Frightening.

He rolled his head on his neck and closed his good eye. I jumped as the familiar bang of a firecracker unexpectedly exploded. Ty’s wounds began to swiftly close themselves together; bones repositioned, and crackled. The eye amazingly reformed in its socket, and fresh skin stretched over the open cheek. If his clothes hadn’t been ripped and stained with blood, you’d never guess that a few seconds ago this guy had been critically injured.

Sang became a blur of otherworldly speed and soundlessly lunged at Ty, his nails thicker, longer, curved claws. Ty anticipated the oncoming attack and propelled himself backward, kicking away from the front of a Volkswagen. Sang, however, was far quicker and slashed five serrated scores on the other man’s back.

I worriedly glanced around for any people and fortunately saw none. Sang was a good ten strides away from Ty; his lips parted in a serious grimace, revealing his extending fangs. He gave me a wary glimpse before striking Ty’s left side, tearing a gruesome wound from hip to shoulder. Without hesitation, Sang punched his head and it turned ninety degrees, sending him hurtling to the ground.

“It should take a little longer for him to heal those.” Sang breathed beside me. He inclined his head and gazed directly into my face, searching to see if I was hurt at all. “What happened? I followed your scent to this road, but I rushed over when another scent, a vampire’s scent, was mixed with yours.”

I nervously twirled a strand of my loose blonde hair around an index finger and answered, “Well, I thought I’d have a good time at the movies with Dana, my friend. Let’s just say I fucked that up big-time, and then when I went out of the movie to go to the bathroom, that guy was waiting for me. He grabbed my arm, but I ran outside, to here, and that’s it.”

As he digested my explanation, he combed a hand through the silky layers of his raven hair. Then, Ty rose to his feet. His back was turned to us, bleeding slow waterfalls. I heard slithering, like a bunch of strings being pulled across a hardwood floor. His skin knit together by itself—a great living canvas. He faced us then, throat erupting with fanatical laughter.

Anger tensed my muscles. I was about to lift my foot to go forward, but Sang barred the way. “Stay here. You’re giving him the reaction he wants. If you let your frustration get to you, he’ll take advantage of that. I don’t want him putting those dirty paws on you again, Lily. Leave ’im to me.”

I patted his back. “Fine. Have fun.”

He blew a kiss and chuckled. “Oh, I will.”

Sang moved with the grace of a cat, prowling closer and closer to his opponent with supple steps. Ty spun around and punched at Sang, who pulled back just out of reach. Then, to my surprise, they both knocked fists simultaneously.

Both men’s energy rippled around them in gales of cold, invisible fire, clashing against one another in a whirlwind of strength. With his free hand, Sang slashed Ty’s front and retreated to a safer, more secluded area beside a Ford truck.

Ty smoothed his fingers over the bleeding cuts, wiped, and held them over his head. “My master offers you her blood,” he called to me.

Wait. What? I began to ask, “Are you talkin’ to me? I don’t understa—” A hard, choking pain seized my throat and chest, and pulsated through me as a thrashing need awoke from within.

I clutched my neck desperately and struggled to fight back the rivulet of superfluous tears. Sang slammed Ty against the side of the truck. “What the hell are you doing?” he snarled, voice fluctuating.

The other man was silent, a sly smirk the only response. Every cut was restored in less than a second, and there were no traces left from the injuries. Sang sucked in an exasperated breath, arms trembling infuriatingly. He hurried next to me, the aggravation in his face showing like a waving red flag.

“Lily, are you okay?”

I spoke as if I was suffocating, “Yeah, I’m okay. Just hurry up and kill that motherfucker.”

His lower lip formed into a pout. “Jeez, I’m tryin’. I don’t know how I’ll ever hurt him if he keeps on healing right away.”

Then, Ty did something I feared he would do: he sighted down the gun and pointed it directly at Sang.

Alarming terror squirmed inside of me. I had never wanted to see a gun other than the ones on TV. I certainly never wanted to see a gun pointed at me.

“Down!” was all I managed to yell as I knocked Sang away. I was thrust back into the air—all the breath, the fright, all blown out.

“Lily, dammit!” Sang knelt and took me onto his legs.

I coughed, a bitter taste filling my mouth. “I-I’ll…be all right.” My hands stroked the hole in my chest, through a lung.

He studied me, chewed his upper lip. “Bear with me. I’m gonna take it out.”

I nodded slowly. He raised a hand, the nails longer, and jabbed it into my lung, prodding for the bullet. A kind of dark vapor, like steam, hissed out of me as he latched onto the bullet and brought it out. I writhed from the pain that followed, screamed as the blood surged up and my lung began to recover. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt so much!

“Gah!” I screamed as the pain intensified and then died down.

Sang set me down and stood. “Better? That was silver.”

“At least there won’t be much of a struggle now since she’s injured,” Ty remarked, rubbing the gun fondly.

Sang bolted toward him. “You fucker! How dare you hurt Lily!”

I saw the glint of silver from the gun, aimed at Sang, at his head.
No, no…No more! Don’t hurt us anymore!

Ty suddenly howled in agony as his entire arm disintegrated into ash, eaten away by nothing. Blood spilled violently from his open shoulder, exciting the lingering hunger inside me. His gun clanged to the ground.

What had I done?
What in the hell did I just do to that man’s arm?

His shrieking continued on for what seemed liked hours. The man’s voice became hoarse and faded. Sang stared fixedly at him, unmoving. He began to step away, his jaw tight with uncertainty.

I instantly distinguished the low chuckle. “That arm will not heal. She has relinquished your very cells, eradicated the regenerative nerves needed to compose a new one. Death is breathing down your neck as I speak.”

Yes, that dark, proud voice. The voice I loathed but captivated me.

Darius.

Ty’s reaction was a blend of ignorance and terror. His face twisted with pain and shock. “I don’t get it,” he murmured. “I don’t get it. Why couldn’t I sense you were coming?” He took in a quivering breath. “What the hell is going on?”

Darius glided closer to him in one fluid motion. Dread gnawed the other vampire’s features as he realized he couldn’t move away, that his feet wouldn’t obey his frantic pleas. “What is your reasoning?”

He spoke in a strained voice, as if the words were being ripped from his throat. “Sh-she ordered that we bring her the new vampire that Darius turned. Told me to try any methods I pleased, and to offer the woman her blood.”

Darius stroked the sides of Ty’s face with the backs of his fingers, the long veils of white lace overflowing from the wide ends of his creamy sleeves sweeping his cheeks. “Why?” he uttered tenderly.

“My master is interested in her, wants her for herself. She mentioned gaining the favor of wealthier figureheads, the Court, and then she wouldn’t say anything else, although I know she’s hiding something.”

“That is all?”

He nodded his head excessively and repeated, “Yes,” numerous times, as if the longer he did this, he’d be pardoned.

Darius laughed high, musically. “Had you not gotten involved with my affairs, I wouldn’t be pitying you presently.”

“I can help you! I’ll tell you where my master is and work for you—”

“You decided that outcome when you chose to fulfill your obnoxious master’s wishes.” He snapped Ty’s neck to the left—almost completely behind—and caught his collar as he started to fall. His remaining limbs began to char away and withered into a snowfall of ashes. At last, the corrosion crept to his torso, and then his head. A void of sorrow filled the space he left behind, fading as quickly as the ashes scattered into the breeze.

Sang peered down at me, his feet next to my head. His tone was gentler, joking. “So, how ya feeling down there?”

“Definitely had worse.” I scowled. “You’d think it’d heal just a bit faster.”

“Well, it is a silver wound.”

“And what’s the whole big thing about silver? And why aren’t there any people around?” Why weren’t there any people around? I mean, come on, we’re in the parking lot for freak’s sake!

He rocked on his heels while thinking the question over. “Silver’s always been bad for vampires. Other than that, I really don’t know why.”

“You needn’t worry about those who had no concern with us.” Darius treaded noiselessly toward me, the creases of his dark tight leather pants shining with a pearly luster from the moon.

I made an effort to lift myself up, or at least my head, but the spiraling feeling of weakness didn’t get me too far. “You’re a little late.”

He bent over and stole me into his arms, one palm supporting my upper back, the other under the bend in my knees. I winced and growled, “Easy, easy.”

“Sang, did I not order you to watch her?” Darius asked coldly, not looking at Sang, but my gradually regenerating injury.

Sang crossed his arms and sat on the trunk of a car. “I did, but she’s reckless. Pushed me outta the way when that guy shot his gun.”

Darius let go of the hand beneath my knees and traced around the wound with discontent, triggering a shiver from me. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” I grasped his arm, dug my fingers into it.

“No touching, and I am fine now.” His voice was sharp, dangerous. “This is what will happen if you do not accept my blood for a time.” My hand became heavy, limp, and then dropped to my side. He brought his hand to his lips and licked the small stain of my blood from a fingertip.

“Get to the point.” Couldn’t Sang tell him to bandage me up and take me home already so I could sleep? God, was I tired! And what about Dana? How was she?

“You worry more than you should, my dear,” Darius breathed. “Sang is my servant, he will obey what orders I give him. As for your friend, her memory has been altered once again, so please be cautious around her. She went to the movie by herself since you had an appointment to attend.”

Dana wouldn’t remember…she’d believe the same lie again, like last time. “Stop fucking around with other people’s heads!”

I wanted to punch him in the face so much that the inside of my mouth tasted like acid. I couldn’t move my arms and legs, like they were paralyzed. What if he was selfish, crazy, and insensible? Was I just something for him to play with? A toy to have fun with?

“Our lives have been burdened by the sins we cannot erase. We are all cursed once we are born into this world. It is a dangerous beast masked by the illusion of beauty.” He shook his head, face exposing a deep sadness. “I cannot reveal the truth yet. However, I will ensure your safety. You may not understand now, but there are others after you, who is precious.”

“I don’t think that answers my ques—” I was stopped in midsentence as Darius struck my neck.

* * * *

The light that welcomed my awakening came as a multitude of dim crystal bulbs, which hung above me off an opulent chandelier. I sat up, head exploding into a tremor of dizziness. It soon cleared, and I examined wherever the heck I was.

For one, there weren’t any windows, which irritated me a bit. There was an entranceway but no door, just a finely woven gold drape. The carpet was dark with the stems of intertwining violet roses, and the walls were painted dull layers of red. In the center sat an oval oak coffee table with a glass top and next to it, a leather chair.

I was behind the table against the wall, on a long velvet maroon couch with a high back cushion, and lying on a bed of lush feathery pillows. God, I was like a queen! It was all so nice, and peaceful, but…where was this?

That’s right.
I was at the movie theater with Dana when a vampire guy attacked me. Sang helped, I was shot, and Darius killed him. After that, my memory was like a space of nothingness. My head hurt, and the side of my neck ached. What had happened?

The drape was swept back as someone came into the room. The woman carried a tray of wineglasses, two bottles, and a bowl of strawberries, cherries, and whipped cream. Her auburn hair was curled around each side of her neck, a contrast against the paleness of her skin, along with her bright ruby lips and neon green eyes. Her outfit was a russet tie-back corset, fishnet hose, a pleated skirt, and high-heeled calf-high boots.

The words tumbled from my mouth. “Are you a stripper?”

She set the tray onto the table and flexed her hands in agitation. “I can’t believe you don’t recognize me! I was the one who got you those clothes when you didn’t have any extras. I live with Sang.”

I considered this for a few seconds, and then the name finally surfaced. “You’re…Lune?”

She smiled and sat in the chair. “Been a while, huh, Lily?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t even begin to understand all the shit I’ve been through.” She nodded. “I’m curious, and I know it’s rude, but what’s up with that outfit?”

Lune crossed her legs and said, “I came over here right from work, so I didn’t have any time to change.”

“So you are a stripper?”

She yelled, “Stop calling me that, it’s degrading! I’m a model. I showcase all sorts of different clothing.”

“Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed that.”

“It’s okay.” She rolled her gaze over me. “Does the nightgown fit all right?”

“Nightgown?” I looked at myself and felt like an idiot for not realizing I was wearing a thin-strapped, black silk nightgown that extended to my bare ankles. “Where-where’s my clothes?”

“I just put them in the dryer. Good grief, even your boots were damp with blood. I had to throw the blouse out, sorry.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I swung my legs to the front of the couch and sat straight. “Lune, do you know where this is?”