Sweet Cravings (9 page)

Wounds
I’d
inflicted.

Caen was on the floor, moaning in pain. I stepped away as if I didn’t belong, which I certainly felt like, and sank against the wall. I started to cry—yes, I can cry—and let the tears drip down my cheeks as if I were a broken faucet. Sang was the same. He cradled Caen in his lap and whispered that it was going to be okay. I sickened myself and was utterly disgusted at how I’d acted. How did I act, though? Everything was a tiny, quick blur. Caen—Del—was going to suck my blood, and I couldn’t remember after that. It was like a new person had taken over and I was left in a separate void of nothingness.

Sang wept, and his whole body shook with anxiety. I wanted to comfort him, pat his back, but staring at my hands made me so angry with myself! I could still taste the sweet tanginess of Caen’s blood bathing my mouth, and how good it was, and oh shit. I’m an awful pers—vampire.

Sang lifted Caen’s head to his neck and urged, “Drink. Drink, Caen, or you’ll die.”

“I’ll be…” He coughed up deep crimson blood. “I’ll be marked by Darius as part of his.” His voice was weak and scratchy.

Sang slammed a fist on the ground and a giant fissure formed and webbed out to where I stood by the wall. “I don’t fucking care! You’re not dying!” He pressed Caen against his neck and muttered, “Drink, dammit.”

Caen was hesitant, but after a few seconds, he climbed up to sit, using Sang’s shirt. His fangs glistened in the candlelight, and he bit into Sang. The crimson-eyed vampire yelped in pain, and then his eyes fluttered in amazement. Sang fell into Caen’s lap and the latter held him as he drank his blood. After what seemed like an eternity, Caen’s wounds began to heal, and Sang slept on the floor, smothered in blood.

My hand flew over my mouth as Caen turned to me. “I’m so sorry,” I uttered.

He smiled as Sang would. “You did the right thing. We don’t know who Del is working for and his motives, but if he drank your blood, you’d belong partially to him, and I wouldn’t want that.”

“But what about you? You’re part of Darius now.”

He sniggered. “I’m alive, and I can be with Sang and part of the Paranormal Police. I can deal with it.” Just then, I really gazed into his beautiful discolored eyes and golden blond hair.

And I knew why Annabelle had chosen him and Sang.

I cracked the door ajar, and I heard a clashing of metal and peeked out to find two women fighting each other with swords.

It was rather interesting. I recognized one person as the bitch who’d chained Hira—I think her name was Tara or something—held two short katanas. The other woman had red hair like Hira’s, only it was a shade lighter and cut inward right before her chin. As she swirled around to block one of Tara’s onslaughts, her emerald green eyes locked with mine, and a smile graced her lips. She backflipped a few times, like an Olympic gymnast, but her speed was too quick for the natural eye.

The redhead was dressed in a green minidress which flared around her when she circled and spun to deflect and attack Tara, who was in the leather suit I’d first saw her in. Although Tara had two swords, and the other woman had one, the redhead seemed to be forcing Tara against the wall. Tara dropped one of her katanas and punched the other woman in the face, causing her to fly backward and crash into the wall. Using her right foot as a propeller, the redhead lunged for Tara and they clashed swords. It was like a dance of death. Twirling, spinning, jumping, and stepping in perfect synchrony with each other. Tara’s feet matched the redhead’s. The redhead’s blows matched Tara’s.

Suddenly, Caen cried out in pain, and the redhead glanced our way. In that instant, Tara took the open opportunity and plunged her sword through the other woman’s chest. Thick blood dripped swiftly from the wound, and it excited me. My fangs slipped out, and I was overcome with an urge to drink the redhead’s blood.

I couldn’t control my body, the thirst was so powerful, and I ran out beside the redhead, crouched down, and licked the blood from the floor. What was wrong with me? Was I some lunatic?

Just as I was lapping the blood, Tara raised her sword and was about to stab me, but the other, more agile woman spun around in a millisecond and sliced Tara’s head cleanly off. It soared across the room and landed on the floor, where it rolled until it hit a chair leg.

There was no blood or gore; only electrical wiring and cords sticking from Tara’s neck. The redhead doubled over in pain and said to me, “Hey, thanks for the distraction.”

Distraction? No, that was
not
a distraction. I was a greedy animal.

A bloodsucking monster.

She stood up and offered me a hand as I sat in the puddle of blood. “Thanks,” I told her.

“So you’re Lily, right?” she asked with the most curious stare.

I swallowed hard. “Yeah, that’s me.”
The hideous vampire. What was wrong with me? Why didn’t I have better control of myself? Was I still that much more undeveloped as a vampire?

“I’m Haru,” the redhead said and winced as her hand accidentally swiped across her chest. “That’ll heal soon.”

“Who-who are you? Why did you help us?”

“Oh, well, I’d been tracking the creation of humanoid machines for some time, and I found Tara and had been on her trail and it led me here.

“By the way,” she continued cheerfully, “you’re all vampires, right? Except for this shifter I freed before I got down here.” She pointed behind her, and there stood Hira with a concerned expression.

“Ugh!” Sang screamed in his sleep as Caen lifted him over a shoulder.

“Sang,” I breathed.

“Hm…” Haru seemed deep in thought. “Lily, Sang, Hira, and…”

“Caen,” I said.

“Oh, yeah! The PP. How could I forget?”

Caen wobbled out of the room and rested against the door, took another step, and then crumbled to the floor. As Sang was about to fall, Hira caught him and slung him over his shoulder. Haru helped Caen up, and he used her as a support to walk.

And I was left in the middle of the room, splattered in blood, and tired as fuck.

I repeat. Tired as fuck.

“Lily! Lily! You must wake up! You must wake up now! Please! If you don’t…”

Darius? Darius was calling me, and I was falling fast into a black abyss. I screamed, but nothing came out. The darkness began to morph into inky, tar-like hands that reached toward me slowly. Eyeless faces appeared inside the black substance around me. They smiled and laughed, and they all turned to me as I fell deeper and deeper into the hole of darkness.

“Lily! Do not let it take you! Wake up! I beg you, Lily, wake up!” His voice echoed loudly in my ears.

“Where are you? I can hear you, Darius, but not see you! Everything is dark and so chilly.”

I was confused and in a daze, and those black hands reached for me; I felt like the only thing to do was grab onto them and let them take me. Then a pale, real hand pushed through the darkness and grabbed me away, into Darius’ arms, and he wept with joy that I had not been taken by the black void.

“I told you not to give in! You cannot do that next time. Do you even know how precious you are to me?”

Just as I was about to answer, I sat up in the bed in a cold sweat and still in my bloodstained pink sweater dress I had worn the day before. A dream. It had all been a dream. I sighed and touched a hand to my forehead wet with sweat. My head was like a rotten watermelon that had been shot with a gun; the aching was unbearable.

Time to take a shower.
I grinned at the thought of the warm water washing away the blood, the sins, and the guilt. Showers had helped me relax since I was a kid.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” I told Darius and swung my legs over the bed and strode into the bathroom before he could reply.

I wanted to take a bath and splash around like a happy koi, but I didn’t want to be in crimson-dyed water. So I’d let it flush down the drain while I showered. I stripped my dress off and hopped into the steamy shower. The water seemed to melt away my troubles, slicked them off my body, and swirled them into the drain.

I rubbed shampoo into my hair and scrubbed to get the blood off. As it foamed and bubbled, I washed my body with soap and a washcloth, flaking off the dried blood and grime. I was so damn accomplished.

Before I had passed out, I had felt shitty and so left behind. I had almost killed one of Sang’s best friends, and the scary part was, I didn’t remember any of it. I remember his mouth coming to my neck, and then blank. Nothing. Sang’s words had woken me up from a forced internal slumber, and I was so very confused.

“Dwelling on the past will not change it,” said a low voice laced with what I could only describe as misery. I turned my head to see Darius. In the shower. With me. Behind me. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and his wavy chocolate hair was sleek, straight, and glistening with water droplets. My cheeks must’ve been so hot you could cook bacon on them. He had the perfect view of my ass. Dammit.

I quickly looked forward and shamefully pretended I still had to scrub the shampoo in my hair.

“You can’t ignore me when I am right behind you.” He laughed, deep and melodious; it made me blink about five times and then shudder at its hidden seductiveness.

I hissed angrily, “You don’t just jump into the shower with someone without telling them!”

“Why not?”

“Privacy.” I pouted

“My dear, you belong to me, and I simply wished to
jump
in the shower with you.”

I growled, “Yeah, well, it’s not polite. And I don’t
belong
to anyone.” I furiously cleansed my hair and let the hot water run over me a few times before I decided it was time to get out. I touched the handle to turn off the water, but Darius’ hand lay atop mine, and he brought it to his chest.

“Wha-what are you doing?” I stammered.

He leaned into my back and combed his hand through my wet, silky hair.

“Not yet,” he said pleadingly. I sighed and left the water on. Darius pressed against me, arms enveloping my stomach gingerly. I breathed slowly as he inclined against my back and brought his mouth to my neck. I closed my eyes, waited for the bite, but instead, he slid his tongue under my ear playfully and nibbled my earlobe, breath hot on my skin. The sensation made me shiver in pleasure, and he very carefully pricked the tip and lapped the tiny drops of blood that leaked from it.

He began to hum that strange, unknown song again and then without notice, withdrew from the shower and stepped out of the bathroom. I waited a few minutes before getting out, made sure the door was locked, and then noticed the mirror drenched in steam. On it was to written:
Come to my room.

I looked at the toilet and sitting on it was a pile of fresh clothes—a bra, panties, and a white silk nightgown. I made sure to dry off well so the silk didn’t get soaked and blow-dried my hair so it had that nice bounce I liked.

After I was dressed and dry I thought about the mirror note Darius had left me and wondered if I should go or not. I mean, he was so generous to me. He was paying for my rent while I was living in his place. He gave me cute clothes and meals, not to mention blood. But he’d also ruined my peaceful life and took my humanity and had turned me into a bloodsucking monster. What could be better?

I thought of him, sitting on his bed waiting for me to arrive. He must’ve been a pro at waiting if he was over two thousand years old.

I sighed. I’d go. But just because I would feel extremely guilty later on if I passed. Which I just couldn’t deal with right now.

I quietly walked to his room, which, if I remembered correctly, was two rooms down from mine. I opened the door, and there, resting in a black-and-white checkered bed, was Sang, sleeping and snoring. I gently shut the door after a brief smile; he just seemed too innocent lying there tucked into the covers.

It had to be the room closest to mine then; unless it was closer to Sang’s. I chose the one by mine, and when I pushed the door ajar, I was greeted with tables of exquisite treats and food. There were round tables with layered plates of sweets, from fresh fruit to tiny cakes and pastries. In the middle of the tables sat a three foot tall chocolate fountain, with picks around it so you could dip your food in. I grabbed a strawberry and plunged it into the thick waterfall of milk chocolate, took it out, and ate it.

I heard Darius chuckle and twisted to see him sitting on the edge of his massive bed, red curtains drawn in, his head in his hands. He had on a red velvet robe with black fur trimming. His hair was now dry and flecked with strips of gold, which could only be seen in the light of his gorgeous, crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, right over his bed.

He laughed and said, “That’s just like you, my dear. You’ve always had a weakness for sweets.”

I almost fell where I stood. “How do you know that?”

He shrugged, and then stared at me with those amber eyes which, as the light hit them, glowed a lovely deep honey and golden hue.

I popped a question. “How long was I out?”

“Four days,” he answered simply.

“Four days!” I exclaimed, rather pissed.

“What you did had merit. In Caen’s pocket was a vial of NEXUS. I’m going to take a look at it today.”

“What about Sang, Hira, and Caen?” I asked worriedly.

“Caen and Hira are fine. Sang has been bedridden since you have been. I would advise seeing him tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Okay. Is he all right?”

Darius smiled. “Nothing to worry about, my dear. He lost a lot of blood and is drinking from other vampires I know, and Hira.”

“What about Haru?”

“Oh, the woman. She invited you to join her for tea Tuesday. Unfortunately, I am busy that day.”

“Oh. Hey, if I eat this much I’m gonna gain weight.”

“No you won’t. Vampires’ metabolisms stop working when they die, so you do not have to fret about losing or gaining weight.”

“I would’ve liked to lose a bit more.”

“You’re perfect the way you are, my dear.”

“No one’s perfect,” I retorted.