Blood Moon (28 page)

Darby went to Blake who was just standing up.

“Are you okay?”

“Sure, sure!”
 

“Can you set your brother’s leg so it heals right or do you need help?”

“Ummm. I think so. I think Dean can help me. If he grabs him at the waist and I pull the leg, I think we can set it although there’s nothing much to splint it with here.”

“I don’t think that will matter much. I think if you get it set, it should start healing by itself. I’m going to check on Rowan.
 
When you are done with Devon you’ll need to carry Rowan to the truck, I think she has punctured a lung and we need to get her to the truck and covered up.
 
There are some blankets in the box in the back of the truck.
 
If you could bring the truck here to the mausoleum it might be easier.
 
I’ve got a first aid kit in there.”

“What are we going to do about this mess though?
 
We can’t just call the police.”
 

“Actually, I think we can.
 
We need to get rid of any traces that we were here and just before we leave, we will anonymously call 911 to the mausoleum and cut Rachel’s hands free. Let’s have her explain things to the police.
 
The police will identify the women and get them to their families better than we can.”

“Good point.
 
Okay.
 
I’ll take care of Devon and go get the truck.”
 
He took off like a flash.

Dean had Sally’s head resting in his lap.
 
Blake approached him. “I need your help for a minute, Dean.”
 

“No problem,” he said and as if handling a China doll, he pulled his shirt off and tucked it under Sally’s head.
 

“What do you need me to do?”
 

“You’re going to pull Devon at the waist, while I pull his foot and we are going to try and set the bone,” said Blake.

“That’s going to hurt like hell.”

“True, but it will heal faster if we set it.”

“Okay, Devon, you know what we’re going to do, right?”
 

“Yeah, I heard,” he muttered.

“Okay now, it’s going to hurt.
 
Hang in there. Dean, on three?”

“Yeah.”

“One. . . Two . . . Three!”

Devon didn’t yell but he winced like he wanted to.
 

“A little better, bro?” Blake asked.

“A tiny bit,” Devon said, wincing and hissing through his teeth.
 

“We don’t have anything here to support it so I’m going to leave you here until I go get the truck and the girls in the car. Okay? Dean, is Sally okay?”

“I think so.
 
She’s got a huge bump on her head, maybe a concussion, I’m not sure, but I think she may have fractured her wrist too.”

“Okay.
 
You stay with her and I’m going to get the truck.”

Darby was checking on Rowan, who was conscious, but naked and in a lot of pain. Her breathing was labored.
 
Darby had grabbed the altar cloth on her way to Rowan to cover her up.

“It’s all over, Rowan.
 
You did great. Blake is getting your truck and we’ll get you to the hospital as soon as possible. Everyone is okay – a little banged up, but okay.”

Darby looked up and Blake was there.
 
He carefully picked Rowan up and as he turned to leave, Darby said, “Blake, I put some sweatpants in the back of the truck.
 
If you could get those on her and tie the top two corners of the altar cloth around her neck and the bottom two around her waist, like a halter top, I think she will be more comfortable. You can help me with your brother when you get back.”

“Gotcha!” he said as he carried Rowan to the truck.
 
Soon he was back and helping Darby with Devon.
 
Dean now had Sally in his arms and he was limping down the creepy corridor.
 

Devon was safely in the car with Darby and Rowan.
 

“Blake,” Darby said as she handed him a Swiss army knife.
 
“Go cut Rachel loose and make sure Dean is okay.
 
When we’re all back in the car, I’ll call 911.”

Blake flew back down to the bowels of the mausoleum, passing Dean on the stairs.
 
He entered the trashed room with dead corpses and body parts strewn everywhere and the thirteen pretty women dressed in white, peacefully resting in a circle around the altar.
What a night!
 
Rachel was just coming around from being unconscious.
 
He grabbed her by the shoulders hard and said, “You’ve hurt my family, Rachel, and now it’s your turn to hurt.”
 
Her face went from groggy to horrified as Blake’s eyes went crimson red and his fangs extended from his mouth.
 
He bit her hard.
 
There was no blocking of pain - there was no wiping her memory.
 
This wasn’t going to be like one of his ‘bug bites.’ He let her see him in all his vampire glory and depleted her blood supply to just what she could survive on.
 
She went limp and passed out again.
 
He cut the ties that bound her hands behind her and dropped her like an empty can of soda to the ground. He wiped his mouth of any remaining blood and smiled as he felt Rachel’s warm blood inside him already repairing him and making him stronger.
 
He rubbed his shoulder that had been dislocated and thought,
Good as new!

He took one last look around the room to make sure there was nothing there that could identify them and headed back to the truck.
 
He sat next to Dean who had Sally’s limp body in his lap, holding on to her for dear life.
 
He smiled at Dean.
 
He looked back at Rowan who, although not breathing well, was smiling at him.

Darby started the truck and headed out of the graveyard as she called 911 and told them nothing but a location to find the missing women.
 
She hung up and looked in the rear view mirror.
 

“I think we should drive to Santa Cruz to take Sally and Rowan to the hospital.
 
It’s about fifteen minutes from here, but I think it is far enough away, the police won’t be suspicious.
 
We’ll tell the authorities that they got hurt falling from scaffolding that was at our house for some renovations.
 
That should explain the injuries well enough.
 
Everybody in agreement?”

A bunch of tired mumbles came from the back of the car.

“Thanks, guys.
 
We did it.
 
No one died.
 
We did it together, guys!
 
All of us,” Darby said as she pulled onto Highway 1 going south towards Santa Cruz.

Chapter 26

Darby woke up in the morning to Harry’s hungry dance.
 
She gave him some ear rubs and a good chin scratch which started his purr motor. She pushed the purring, hairy monster to the edge of the bed and rolled towards the gorgeous vampire lying next to her.
 
The sun shone on him with such brilliance it almost took Darby’s breath away. His face looked angelic there in the beautiful morning sun.
 
She leaned over and tenderly kissed his check.
 

He stretched and opened his eyes, smiling at her with his beautiful brown eyes and a smile that she knew would get him anything he wanted. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. Her head on his chest, she stretched her neck and kissed him at the tip of his chin where he had a small tuft of hair. It tickled her nose when she did this. She said, “I love you, Devon.”

He squeezed her tighter and kissed the top of her head.
 
“I love you too, Darby. I’m starving.
 
How about a little Darby snack,” he said as he teasingly bit her neck.

“Mmmmm. Only if I get to bite back?”

He jerked her back from him and looked at her sharply.

“What?” she said. “You can joke about it, but I can’t?”

“You’re not a vampire.”

“I could be.”

“No.” He sat up instantly frigid, his broad back to her. She sat up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. She kissed the skin on his back and raked her teeth, gently biting him between kisses.

“Fine then, how about pancakes?” she said, changing the subject, to which he responded with a turn of the head and a smile.

They hopped out of bed and Darby went to get the paper while Devon, humming to himself, limped to the kitchen to start the pancakes and coffee.
 

It had been a week since the underground battle with Rachel had happened and the newspaper was still talking about it. Darby shuffled back to the kitchen, reading the headlines out loud to Devon.

“Listen to this, Sweetie.
 
After an anonymous tip to the police, the thirteen women who had been abducted from various local towns were found underground in a crypt in what appeared to be some demonic ceremony.
 
All the women were checked out by the local hospital and were found to be in good health.
 
None of them remember anything about their abductions.
 
Their families have been contacted and most are home now.
 
A suspect is in custody but is refusing to talk at this time.”

“Great…glad to hear they’re all okay and home,” Devon said.

“Me too.”

Rowan and Blake walked into the kitchen.
 

“Morning, D,” Rowan said. “Is the coffee ready?”

“Help yourself,” Devon said.

“Morning, Darby,” Blake said.
 

“Morning, string bean,” Darby said and Blake shook his head as he grabbed a cup from the cupboard. Devon looked at him and chuckled.

“Rowan, how are those ribs?”

“Good.
 
It’s good to be a fast healing werewolf. Hardly hurts at all anymore.”
 

“Good.
 
Paper says the women have all been returned to their families and all were in good health.”

“Super,” Rowan said.
 
The back door opened and in walked Sally with Dean attached to her at the waist.
 
Sally was giggling and Dean had to use one hand to swipe Sally’s hair out of his mouth.
 

“Morning, boys and girls,” Dean said happily.

“Morning, Dean, Sally.
 
Sleep okay?”

They looked at each other and laughed and Dean answered, “Sure, slept great.” Darby smiled.

“Sally how’s your wrist?”

“It’s itchy.
 
I don’t know how I’m going to last another five weeks with this cast on.”

“Pancakes?” Devon asked.

Dean said, “Yeah, I’m starved.”

Devon looked at Darby and she laughed.

Soon they were all sitting around the kitchen table eating, talking, and laughing.
 
Darby asked Dean, “So what’s the plan?”

“Well, I told you I was thinking of moving to California and I’ve decided I’m going to start looking for houses today.
 
The farm in Colorado is already on the market so no time like the present.
 
Sally has decided to stay in California too and resume her classes at UC Santa Cruz and get a part time job.”

Darby said, “Well, you could always come work at the bookstore.”
 

Rowan and Blake turned their heads in shock.
 

“What?” Darby said.
 
“It’s because of Sally we’re all alive today.
 
She never informed her sister of our plan to intervene, did you, Sally?” Sally shook her head.
 

“If Sally had told Rachel we were coming, there would have been traps to deter us and we wouldn’t have caught her so off guard.”

“But she fought against us,” Blake said and Rowan nodded.

“Sure she did; wouldn’t you, even if your brother had gone off his rocker?”

“I suppose, maybe.”

“Sally and I had a long talk about a week ago at the bookstore, something I know that if her sister knew, she would have paid for dearly.
 
She didn’t want to fight, but she couldn’t betray her sister. But her sister betrayed her, and I suppose that was the last straw for you, right, Sally?” Sally nodded.

“But she slept with Blake,” Rowan spit out.

“I did not! Who told you that? I mean he’s cute and all but he’s a little on the skinny side for me,” Sally retorted.

Everyone looked at Blake and it was the first time Darby had ever seen Blake blush.
 

“Well, I assumed that…well, I was with her for three days, what else was…”

“I needed your strength, you dumb vampire.
 
I didn’t want to … Geez, I don’t have to use magic to make a guy have sex with me.”

“Then what did you do with him for three days?” Rowan asked.