Bliss (The Custos) (31 page)

"Yeah, Cash isn’t down there anymore though." He walked towards me as I stood at the door.

"Why would he be down there?" Was he still on the torture train with Simon?

"He had some things to sort out with the Nex down there." I bet he did.

"Me too actually. I woke with a pretty brilliant idea. Want to come with me?" I expected a fight from him but he shrugged his shoulders and led the way.

I had never been down here and as we stepped further into the unknown I expected to see dungeons and motes and dingy brick lit by staffs of fire every fifty feet. Not so much. The walls were starch white and the light down here was hospital bright and so not good for any woman who respected her appearance. There were five cells; all glass so you could see in had a small bed in the corner and a cooler I assumed for blood when there were prisoners. I was actually shocked at how inmate friendly they were. Who knew Vampires would honor Vampires rights the way humans honored human rights.

I seen the cell I was looking for, I knew it was Simons because there was blood on the floor which meant either Cash had done a little aggression therapy or Simon got fed. I was pretty sure it was the former not the later. Cash looked like a killer when he left me after our fight.

I walked to the cell and stopped dead; catching my breath I was so not prepared. I spun and hid my face against Bastian’s giant chest. "Jesus, what happened?" I asked the nausea from early making a standing ovation.

One
Nex
had no legs and had been tortured, not beaten but tortured and left to sit in his own blood as punishment. Another I didn’t know looked just as bad though was still in one piece and Simon, he no longer looked like Simon but more like Dr. Frankenstein got a hold of him. I didn’t even know there were more than Simon here. I was shocked and the humanity inside of me was winning.

"Try and remember what they did to get in here London." Bastian said certainly. "This is far less than what they deserve." He was right but I didn’t need to see it. I turned from his chest and headed back for the stairs. I was foolish in my quest, I knew that now.

Back up stairs I sat at the table and heated a cup of coffee. I emptied the old grounds and tossed them in the garbage and seen Cash's mug. I reached in and took the pieces out, digging like a crazy bag lady till I had them all. Yeah he was pissed when he left me earlier and seeing the mug made me realize how unfair I had been. I knew he was stressed out, but I hen pecked him and needled him without relenting. I was the worse girlfriend in the world and I needed to see him to know we were ok.

I went to the sink and seen Preachers mug broken and it did me in. My tears came and I leaned against the sink. Bastian came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders in a friendly gesture. "They will be fine London; this all has got them both weighed heavily."

"Did they fight?" I asked through my tears. Did I do this?

"Yes, but I don’t know why."

Shaking off my tears I sat back at the table. I didn’t want coffee anymore, the mugs did me in.

"I wanted to talk to
Simon, I wanted to know if there was anything inside of him that was still human. I figured if Conlin got me that if I did turn
Nex
, maybe... I don’t know..." I said frustrated because I knew the answer. Bastian told me anyways.

"No, there’s not. They trade their soul London. The minute they drink from an innocent without control, the soul dies and all that’s left is the shell of evil."

"I know I just hate the idea of all this badness because of me."

He sat and looked at me, compassion in his eyes. "If it wasn’t you it would be someone else Love. There is no rhyme or reason in what they do or why they do it. Conlin is new, he's a change for sure but the bottom line is the same as everyone. It’s a power play. By doing something drastic they gain respect of other Nex."

"Why won’t they just turn me, this all ends if they turn me?" It was all that made sense to me anymore.

"You know why. Your anger would be the nail in the coffin. The minute you came over the other side you would be vengeful, angry and it would kill your soul."

"Preacher was angry and he came through on the good side." Hell Preacher went for Angelo and his men the minute he came through and he enjoyed the idea of killing them, hell he was still looking for them, heaven help them if he ever finds them. Heaven help them because he was proud of it.

"True, but Preacher went in knowing the turn out. He went into his Vampire life knowing he would be Custos, he knew he wouldn’t be evil. Unlike most, hell any I've ever met, Preachers soul was the strongest out there. His vengeance will be a reckoning, it will be deserved and with his faith, the vengeance will kill out. He reads them all last rights as he kills them and prays for forgiveness. You lack that faith London and your vengeance, though deserved; you would feel guilt and the guilt wins when the bloodlust ends. The
Nex
would take you and every one of us would be there to kill you and that would kill us, Cash the most. I think it would turn him
Nex
Love, I really do."

The idea of Cash becoming like Simon made my insides turn outside and I wanted to scream in frustration. "Where is he?" I asked my voice so faint I wondered if I even said the words.

Bastian stayed silent but the look on his face said he heard me. "Where is he?" I asked louder now, my voice firm with 'don’t fuck with me' all over it.

"He's in Elko. He found Conlin’s hide out and went to scope it out...." Pausing I knew there was more.

"And?"
I asked impatiently.

"He went alone."

And like that I passed out, fear was funny like that. I just lost all control and closed my eyes and....fell.

*

Cash

"Nice to see you can shift now." Leushus was behind me and I turned.

"Well I learned on my own finally. I thought only you could do it, till I seen Klem and Preacher pull the same Houdini act after I did. Thanks for letting me know I missed that day of Vampire school."

Leushus laughed and came to stand at my side. The second he moved I seen Preacher behind him. His scent and energy masked by Leushus. I stiffened and looked at him.

"You shouldn’t have come on your own you bloody fool." Preacher had a joint and he was high as a kite. He must have
toked up in hopes of calming his nerves, where as I tortured my enemy, Preacher turned to nature, as he liked to call it.

Fucking Preacher.

"It's safe this far back." I said almost to myself as I turned to face the distant whorehouse. With every fiber in me I wanted to go to him, to Conlin and give him his death but I knew it was stupid. I could feel daylight coming long before its arrival and my skin was starting to sting. I had maybe an hour. I could do a lot in an hour though.

"Well let’s go get him before we turn to dust." Leushus said.

Preacher and I both smiled because we were finally there, so close and he was fucking dead.

I don’t know how it happened or what was wrong that we didn’t sense the presence of
Nex
but before I could follow the sound I felt the bullet penetrate. Like slow motion it entered my shoulder blade and came out in a whistle. The second shot had me on the ground as the spray of the shotgun hit me in the back.

Like field runners taking off Preacher and Leushus ended the lives of the Nex behind us before I could turn to face my attack. I reached for my dagger, fighting hand ready if the attack got closer but it never did. Preacher rushed to my side and lifted me on one side, Leushus on the other.

"More will come Preacher. You get back and I'll bring Cash. Prep London he needs blood." He lifted my shirt and jacket; I could feel the bullets stinging my flesh and knew they used silver.

Fucking cheating bastards.

"Fuck, silver." I heard Preacher say before I felt his essence disappear. He was gone.

"Hold on Cash, this is gonna hurt." Leushus said. Before everything went black I thought of my Princess and her flowing brown hair and wished I could touch her.

*

London

I was pacing the floor in the living room waiting for Cash. The house had been torn apart and I wondered what the fuck happened before he lost all sanity and went out alone. So help me if he came back in one piece it wouldn’t be for long. My mind whirling the worst case scenarios I heard a loud pop and looked behind me. Preacher landed on his ass from out of nowhere.

"Bastian!" He roared and Bastian came dashing into the living room armed and ready to fuck some shit up.

"What?" he asked holstering his gun and looking a little disappointed that he couldn’t kill anything.

Bad Dog.

"Get down to the prison and get a room ready for first aid, Cash is coming in with Leushus." Preacher said nothing more until I screamed.

"What happened to him?" I was not going to sit and weep god damn it. I needed him home like now and we would deal with Leushus's injuries together. "What happened to Leushus?"

Preacher looked at me and scrubbed his face, so like Cash it made me want him even more. "Where are they?"

"Not Leushus Cookie. Cash, he was shot in the shoulder and the back with silver bullets." Leave it to Preacher to never bullshit or drag things out.

"Oh God." I said and felt my knees give before Preacher caught me. This damsel in distress thing was pissing me off, but I could not gain my composure.

Bastian disappeared; he was pale and cursing as he dashed down the stairs. "Cookie pull it together now he needs blood and you to just love him right now. I know you fought but he needs you now so focus okay."

He was right and like that I calmed, and waited for the worst.

London

It had been grueling, from the moment I woke on the bathroom floor. Now I stood, as the sun rose in the east, and watched as Cash lay motionless on a makeshift gurney and Bastian pulled silver from his body. Preacher stood at my side, his rosary in hand he kept motioning a cross above his chest, his lips silently moving and I knew he was praying. He was so beautiful and the moment was so ironic. One of the Immortal damned praying to save his best friend.

"Why isn’t he moving?" I asked Preacher my voice cracking, my hands shaking.

"It's the silver, it paralyzes him. He will be ok though Cookie. Liquid silver is what will kill a Vampire quickly. He is in pain and would die had we not been there. The longer it's in his system the more danger he would face." He looked at me with false hope in his eyes. "We are getting it out. He'll be sick but he won’t be gone."

I looked at the three
Nex
in the cell watching as Bastian worked quick and efficient over Cash's chest and back. Leushus had removed the broken piece of silver in his shoulder immediately. "I want them dead." I said through gritted teeth. Preacher knew who I meant.

"Vengeance will meet them Cookie, no worries." his tone matched mine as far as frightening went.

Simon smiled at me and then laughed something to the other two
Nex
in the cell with him. The action infuriated me but I looked away and kept my focus on Cash.

Preacher had stayed so calm through the ordeal and I knew he was as worried and nervous as I despite the fact that it wasn’t liquid. It was close enough. I had a new appreciation for the knock off's venders sold on street corners. A knockoff, so close to the original was in deaths distance of taking my Vampire from me. I wondered if God would forgive me my vengeance.

Cash was sleeping, a drug induced coma knocked him out and even in sleep like always his weapons were at his side, strapped to him as if he would wake to battle more. Thank goodness that my Vamps couldn’t fight against man made drugs. I refused to leave his side though. It was surreal to say the least. There were no monitors or breathing tubes. He was just there and I knew he was un-dead but the sight of him, still as granite the human in me freaked me out. I kept looking for his chest to move, for his breathing to get louder or to cough. The room was so silent I feared my own thoughts.