Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (5 page)

I, like a fool, stepped up to provoke death
in the face. “This place is filled with my kind. You stake us and
you will get what’s coming to you!” I growled.

Stake boy grabbed my wrist and with it, he
drew a line from the inside of my elbow to my wrist. I pretty much
freaked out; first, because the little punk squeezed my wrist and
second, because the bastard cut me with a wooden stake. I felt the
blood rush to my eyes as my anger flared, but before I could lunge
at the kid, the pain spiked in my arm.

Just as I fell on my ass screaming in pain, I
saw another huge black leather trench coat jump between me and the
guy with the stake. Instinctively, I flung my bleeding arm over my
heart and the other over my eyes. I rolled to my side and gasped in
pain. All I could hear over my screams was Lydia’s voice trying to
calm me.

“Shh. It’s okay,” she begged. I nodded and
tried to calm my breathing as best I could, but the burning in my
arm did not fade.

Having wood rake your skin is about as
comfortable as taking a hot branding iron and holding it in place
on your body. It hurts! I risked looking at my forearm, bad idea.
Man he got me good. Blood was oozing from the wound, spilling out
onto the floor and my wrist was bruised. I flinched at the familiar
sight. I don’t like anyone touching my fucking wrist! Lydia unwound
her scarf from her neck and used it to wrap up my bleeding arm. I
tried to protest, but she silenced me with a hard glare.

Strong arms lifted me off the floor and I
just about fainted when I looked up at my savior. Damn! Dragus was
carrying me. Those brilliant blue eyes looked down at me like he
was trying to figure out whether to kiss me or kill me. I think he
wanted to kill me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I
demanded. I tried to wiggle free of his grasp, but it was
pointless. I was stuck in his arms.

“What the hell are you doing fighting with
human teenagers?” he demanded back. Yup, I think he wanted to kill
me.

“Instinctual response to being threatened, so
sue me,” I paused. “Wait a minute! Are you following me?”

“No, my lady,” he said. His chin immediately
jerked up like he was hiding something. “I’m just patrolling the
local shopping facility,
trying
to do my job.” He sounded so
sure of himself, but I knew he was lying. Vampire senses and all
that.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked
skeptically.

“To the clinic, to get you patched up.” He
continued to hold his chin high so I couldn’t look into his eyes.
It irritated and embarrassed me that he picked me up like I was a
damsel in distress. By no means, was I that. I needed to set things
straight with Dragus.

“No need
Krieger
. I have blood at home
and ointment. Put me down, I can go from here,” I demanded, still
biting my lip to keep from screaming in pain. The burning surfaced
and I flinched. Dragus’ hold on me tightened, but after a hard
glare from me, he changed his mind.

“As you wish, my lady,” he paused to set me
down. “Let me at least wrap your arm better so you don’t get blood
in your car.”

“Fine,” I snapped. I only agreed to being
patched up because he struck a nerve. Blood in my car would really
piss me off. I cringed at the thought of staining the interior of
my beautiful baby.

He led me over to the First Aid office and
opened the door. Dragus politely held the door for me as I stepped
inside. The room was no bigger than a standard size bathroom. One
cot on the far wall, a small desk by the door, and supply cabinet
completed the room. The walls were painted baby blue and the smell
of antiseptic and floor cleaner assaulted my senses. I held my arm
away from my clothes while he dug around looking for supplies.

He removed a roll of gauze and some ointment
from the supply cabinet and turned toward me. With an impatient
huff, I held my arm out toward him and waited. Dragus carefully
examined my arm, twisting and turning it looking for any other
signs of trauma. He touched my bruised wrist and I flinched, but
did not pull away. He eyed me suspiciously.

I growled when he rubbed the ointment into my
arm. I bit down a little too hard on my lip and flinched when I
felt my fang prick into the skin. The wound was sore and even the
slightest touch sent pain to every nerve ending in my body. Like
when you stub your toe and you get a headache, yeah well I would
have rather stubbed my toe.

Dragus reached over and with his thumb,
wiping the blood from my lip. His touch was as soft as a feather,
gentle. But the touch itself was like an electric jolt to my body.
Oh man! Why did he have to do that? I looked away from him,
embarrassed, and noticed Lydia’s big wide eyes staring through the
little window in the door. Her face lit up like a Fourth of July
fireworks display.

“All set, my lady,” he cleared his throat.
“Do be more careful when dealing with those you don’t know.”

“Yes, sir,” I said sweetly. When I turned
away, I reached up and touched my lip where Dragus had wiped away
my blood.

It was a quarter to four, when I arrived
home, and low and behold there was a
Nachtmann
camped out on
my porch. I gritted my teeth, cussed Dragus a few times, and drove
around back to the garage. I parked the car and walked into the
house. After dropping my bag, I immediately went to the front door
and opened it so hard I thought it would come off the hinges.

“Are you Keith Pullman?” I demanded. This guy
was good. He never flinched, jumped, or ran away screaming when he
saw the anger in my features. Of course I went a little overboard.
There was probably no need for me to growl and allow my eyes to
turn red, but I wanted to get my point across.

“Yes ma’am,” his deep voice boomed. Keith
looked like a big, brown teddy bear. His skin was the color of
Mocha and he had eyes to match. He was nowhere near as large as a
Krieger
, but for a human, he was pretty well stacked.

“Well, you are dismissed. I won’t need your
protection.” I fluttered my hand out toward the road, dismissing
him from my house.

“Um, Master Dragus mentioned you might say
that,” he chuckled and then cleared his throat. “I have been
instructed to hold my position until he instructs me otherwise.”
Keith gave a shrug and turned his back.

“ARG!” I slammed the door. Oh, when I get my
hands on Dragus, I’m going to…going to, well. I don’t know what I’m
going to do. Damn, why must he be older
and
stronger than
me? I have been taking care of myself since 1745. What does he
think he’s doing?

The pain in my arm flared and I knew that my
foul mood would have to wait till another evening, when I most
likely will see him again; I had to get my arm taken care of
first.

I sat at the kitchen table and reluctantly
grabbed a bag of blood from the refrigerator, for healing purposes.
Drinking the donated blood has been compared to eating stale potato
chips. Not that I would know what potato chips tasted like, but
some of the newbie’s said that was what it reminded them of from
their human days. I don’t care right now, as long as my arm is back
to normal by morning.

I poured a goblet full and stuck it in the
microwave for a minute. The ding from the bell made my mouth water,
anticipating the flavor awaiting me. I gulped down the donated
blood and rinsed the goblet out, setting it in the sink.

I felt the pull of death wearing down on me.
Sunrise was near; I needed to retire to my room immediately.
Instead of risking a sunrise baking service, I locked up the house
and set the alarm, tossed the empty bag in the trash and turned off
the lights. Once dressed in my hot pink cotton pajamas, I crawled
in the bed and then my lights flickered out.

Chapter 3

Dragus

The past few nights were fairly calm in Port
Royal. We searched every inch of the city for any sign of the
Lycanthropes or Adam Castillo. There had been no more reports of
attacks or sightings. I hadn’t seen or heard from Charity since
Tuesday night either. I didn’t dare contact her. She seemed a
little irritated at my boldness. Just because I hadn’t seen her
didn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about her.

There was still about half an hour before
sunset when I left my chamber at the
Krieger
Estate and made
my way into the dining room. My butler, Simon, was waiting there
with my daily reports from the city police and
Nachtmann
. He
handed me a goblet of blood and left the room.

The reports from the police department showed
there had been no sighting from Adam, but the one from Steven
disturbed me.

Nachtmann
Keith Pullman had seen Adam
Castillo on Charity’s property early that afternoon. He was
standing just inside the tree line at the back of her yard. She
lived alone on a ten acre farm that bordered Shepherd’s Forest. The
daytime watchman had called in reinforcements and had eventually
scared him off; back into the woods.

“What does he want with her?” I pondered. I
was at a loss.

I still had about fifteen minutes before I
could leave the estate. The pain of worry hurt my chest. If she had
been alone, he could have gotten into her home and hurt her during
her daily death. I was just thankful for the
Nachtmann
I had
sent to her home, but it worried me that the hybrid was that close
to her.

Standing by the front door, I called Ashby
while I waited to leave. “Ashby, I need you to put together a
search party. Adam Castillo was seen on Charity Harwood’s property
this afternoon. The
Nachtmann
scared him off, but I’m almost
certain that he is using the cover of the forest to hide. As soon
as these damn blinds roll up, I’m going to her house to question
her.”

Could she know him personally? Was he a
lover? Or something more sinister?

“Yes, sir,” he paused. “Text me her address
and we’ll be over there as soon as we can.”

I paced in front of the door, mentally
wishing the sun to set early. I noticed Simon walk by, he paused to
say something, but by my expression, he thought better of it and
continued down the hallway. I checked my watch and I still had less
than five minutes before dusk.

I hated mysteries. My usual control vanishes
when I don’t have the answers. How am I supposed to keep the peace
with I can’t even figure out what is going on. I need to know why
he is targeting Charity. What is the link? Why are the Lycanthropes
here, in Port Royal?

I paced the rug a few more times, thinking
about Charity. She was as stubborn as a mule, but for some reason I
felt the overwhelming urge to protect her. Every time I close my
eyes now, I remember her as she was in my dreams so long ago,
heartbreakingly beautiful. At the time, she was small, almost a
foot shorter than myself. Her delicate hands and petite figure said
that, as a human, she was fragile. If I’d found her then, could I
have had the strength to change her without killing her. Her blood
appealed to me even in the dreams.

The blinds closing off the estate hummed as
the motors kicked in to open up the doors and windows for the
night. With preternatural speed I jumped inside the Hummer and
started the engine, determined to get to Charity’s home before she
left for the evening.

Charity

Saturday night started with a bang,
literally.

I stepped out of the shower and heard fists
beating on my front door. It sounded like an ox was trying to break
down my door. I grabbed a robe, tied the wrap tightly around my
waist, ignoring my clothes on the bed. I made it to the door in a
matter of seconds. My senses registered a male vampire at the door.
I’m not stupid, but I was a little annoyed and forgot to check who
it was before swinging it open.

“Oh shit!” I gasped and then slammed the door
right in Dragus’ face. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since our
encounter Tuesday night. I thought maybe he had gotten a hint and
decided to leave me alone. Lydia nagged me over and over the past
few days about him. She always worried about my love life; since
she didn’t have anything better to do.

“My lady? Please open the door,” he
begged.

“I’m not properly dressed Dragus. Go away!” I
yelled. Oh, great! How embarrassing was that? I quickly checked to
make sure I didn’t have a breast exposed or something like that,
and breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed there was nothing
hanging out.

“Ms. Harwood. I have been beating on your
door for over half an hour. Are you okay?”

“My room is mostly sound proof, I didn’t hear
you. Um…I was in the shower.” How embarrassing?

“Oh, forgive me, my lady. I did not know. You
may resume your evening ritual, I will wait here.” I heard him
shuffling around nervously on the porch. For a second, I wondered
what he could possibly want. God only knows with him. And what’s
with the formalities?

I must have been in a good mood, because I
would have said something witty in response to his
allowing
me to get dressed. Well, screw him. I’ll take my time; payback for
sending the
Nachtmann
. Ha! Point one for me tonight! I can
be a little bit vengeful at times.

Back in my room, I slowly worked on my hair.
I took my time carefully blow drying and straightening each
section. Next, a full complement of makeup, and lastly my favorite
pair of jeans, a Nights work shirt with a long sleeve sweater, and
comfy boots. It might snow tonight. The wound on my arm, from the
encounter at the mall, refused to heal properly. I had left my
ointment and bandages in the kitchen, so that would have to wait
until I got ready to leave. By the time I finished, Dragus had been
outside for another hour.

After ‘resuming my evening ritual’, I opened
the door to find Dragus’ back filling the space that was once my
door. His massive shoulders were the width of the frame. When he
turned, the porch light caught in his eyes and I noticed they
sparkled like a star. A million and one fantasies churned through
my head at the moment. He did that annoying hand over the heart and
bow thing he so often used. My bliss faded.