Seizing Darkness (Fur, Fangs, and Fairies) (10 page)

“Really? What did you find out?” Radek stopped what he was doing and was looking intently at Gregory.

“He’s being held in a shipping container down at the Tacoma port.”

“Do you know how many shipping containers are in the Port of Tacoma?” I asked.

“Well I can find him, but I can’t get to him. They have some sort of setup with UV lights. So no vampire can enter without being fried. He’s in a smaller container inside it. He’s alive, that’s what’s important. He’s quite furious and hungry, but still alive.”

“We need to be done with this by daylight. We’re going to keep the casualties to a minimum on both sides if possible,” Radek said sternly, looking at each of us.

Now that just took all the fun out of this,
I thought. 

“Well that just takes the fun out of it,” Madon said.

I smiled at his comment that was so close to what I’d been thinking.

Radek gave him a withering look. He grabbed his laptop and brought up satellite photos of the port. “About where is the container located?” Radek asked, turning the screen around so that Gregory could see it.

“In this general area,” Gregory said, pointing. “Can you access the pictures from the night he was taken?”

“That would take too much time. These are older photos. We just need to get close enough to sniff him out. I have communication devices for all of us. This way we can split up. Obviously since there are UV lights involved, you shouldn’t be near the container, Gregory. We go in teams of two. I suspect this is a trap of some kind as he’s practically in the open. They may not realize we know where he is already, so it is best to do this sooner rather than later. We’ll go in quick and quiet. Madon and Natalya, there will be no shifting. There’ll be humans in the area.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the ‘I’m the boss and no one can question me’ Radek. I was going to have to live with it for now though.

“Why don’t we bring in more of Gregory’s vampires?” Madon asked.

“Some of them may be involved,” Radek said without looking up.

“Excuse me?” Gregory said. He looked livid. This was apparently news to him.

“We have reason to believe that at least one of Madon’s wolves might be involved. This deep into your guys’ territories, someone had to have helped them. We know that there are vampires involved. Are you telling me that there are strange vampires in your territory and no one in your seethe knows anything about it?”

There was a long pause. “I see your point and you may be right.”

“We can take care of that problem after we get Dante back,” Radek said. “Does anyone from your seethe know where you’re at?”

“No, I do not answer to anyone.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?” Radek asked.

“It’s a vampire thing. We tend to keep secrets. No one will think anything of it. None of them know of my connection to Dante either,” Gregory said. He wasn’t showing any emotion again. I hated that I couldn’t tell what a vampire was thinking from their smell. I guessed from Madon’s lack of surprise that he knew about Gregory and Dante.

“Well that makes this a bit better,” Radek said. “Are there any questions?”

“Nope, I’m good. We get in, get Dante, and get out,” I said. It was like I did things like this every day. It all seemed familiar somehow. But any time I tried to remember something before my time here, my head felt like it was exploding.

Madon nodded his understanding. He had a very determined look on his face.

I had a feeling he might get a little out of control tonight. He was still angry that some of his wolves were involved. I hoped that Radek could handle him.

“Come on, then.” Radek led us out of the house. We followed him to the garage. When he opened the doors I saw a huge black Hummer.

“I sure hope you weren’t thinking that we could sneak up on them in something this pretentious,” I said.

“It’s big enough for all of us and the windows are tinted to block out UV rays. Just get in.”

I brushed past him and went to the front passenger door. I practically had to jump into the massive vehicle. I settled into the seat while the others got in the back. I watched him come around shaking his head. I smiled; I really did like messing with him.

The smile dropped from my face as the tension in the vehicle started to heighten. Glancing at Radek, I noticed that he was watching Madon very carefully in the rearview mirror. He must have noticed his simmering rage as well.

Chapter Ten

After parking the SUV, Radek grabbed my arm to keep me from leaving. The other two jumped out and shut their doors. I looked from Radek’s hand to his eyes. Warmth was spreading from his hand and invading my entire body. We really needed to nip this thing between us in the tail.

“Hold on a second. I still think Gregory has nothing to do with this, but I can’t be too careful. Madon seems a little overzealous. I’m going to take him with me. You go with Gregory, but watch your back. This is a trap of some sort, I can feel it. I don’t believe he’s involved, but – you know. Do you got it?” he said sincerely.

“I can handle it, Dek. I’m at full strength tonight and so are you. Let’s just go get our vampire back and kick some butt.”

That earned me a smile as he opened the door and jumped out. We joined the other two.

“Madon, you’re with me. Gregory, you go with Nat. We’ll take the left, you guys take the right. Watch your backs. Remember: quickly in, quickly out. Let’s try to keep the casualties to a minimum,” Radek said. The other two nodded their agreement and we made our way to the docks. It was about a mile walk.

“Radek suspects a trap, doesn’t he?” Gregory asked when we got out of earshot of the other two.

I looked him up and down. I didn’t trust him, but Radek was right – he didn’t seem the type to betray Dante. Gregory respected Dante, it was evident. “Yes. He’s hoping you’re not involved,” I said and saw him smile.

“He’s the distrusting one, and so are you for that matter. I can see why you would be, though. I certainly don’t blame either of you for that. We don’t even know why all this is happening right now. He would be stupid not to be questioning everyone. But I assure you that I have nothing to do with this.”

“I want to believe you,” I told him truthfully. I realized that this was the first time I’d ever spent any time alone with him. Maybe I should give him a chance. Dante saw something in him.

“I know, but something has happened to you and you don’t trust vampires. It’s certainly understandable.”

“I honestly don’t remember.”

We had to stop talking because we’d reached the gate. The wire-topped fence was no big deal to either of us. We were over in a matter of seconds, and I followed Gregory’s lead.

The attack came swiftly. I smelled the three vampires seconds before they were on us and had no time to react. Two of the vamps had gone immediately after Gregory. That left one for me.

I knew it was either him or me, so I didn’t even think about what I had to do. I barely noticed the cracking sound that came from his neck as I snapped it. I let him fall to the ground. He was a younger vampire, certainly not a master. That had finished him off.

“Go ahead. I’ll g
et your back. Just get to Dante,” Gregory said with a grunt as he tore the head off of one of the vamps. I jumped out of the way of the blood that shot through the air. Somehow none of it had gotten on Gregory.

It was obvious that he could handle the one that remained, so I took off running stealthily alongside the containers. I had a better idea, and quickly climbed on top of the nearest one, racing along the tops of them silently. My soft soled shoes didn’t make a sound on the metal boxes. I could hear fighting coming from the direction that Radek and Madon should’ve been. I glanced behind and below me and saw the dark shape of Gregory. Another few figures chased behind him. I kept going
, but saw Gregory turn and face his would-be attackers. I could smell Dante – he was close. So far, nobody had noticed me on top of the containers.

I made my way to the box that smelled of Dante. I jumped across the aisle and landed on top of it. I crouched down and used all my senses. There was one werewolf guarding the front of the container. A feral grin spread across my face. I could feel my fur just beneath my skin. My claws and fangs itched to come out, but Radek had said no shifting.

I moved to the edge of the container and jumped onto the back of the wolf. I grabbed his neck, twisting as I landed on top of him, snapping his spine at the base of his neck and rolling off of the body. I quickly searched his pockets and found the key to the lock. Here was the dilemma. If I got in and the bad guys came, I could be locked in as well. I paused and considered my options. I checked the wolf’s pockets again and came up with my answer. It was a small metal pocket knife, but it would do. 

The door squeaked as I opened it. I cringed, hoping that the noise wouldn’t attract any more attention. With a quick glance around, I lodged the blade of the knife into the hinges of the door, making it unable to close. The brightness of the UV lights nearly blinded my sensitive eyes. It
took a second to get used to the intensity of the light. I looked for the source of the lights. They were located on top of a wooden crate which held a very pissed off vampire. I could smell the sharp scent of anger and hunger coming off of him in waves. It would be maddening to be so strong yet not able to move just because of the lights. If Dante even opened that crate, he would run the risk of becoming a very crispy vampire.

I looked around to see what I could use to knock out the lights. I needed to be careful – even though I didn’t think that Dante would harm me, I didn’t want to take the chance. There was nothing in here. I thought of the werewolf I’d left outside. Maybe I could find something useful on him. I stepped back outside and in his back pocket I found a sling shot.

Really? A sling shot? You have to be kidding me, I thought.

Well, it could work. I searched his other pockets and found four hard roundish objects. The smell hit me as I held them. It was disgusting, but they would have to do. I didn’t really have time to look for anything else. I’ve never used a sling shot before, but I imagined it couldn’t be too hard. I ignored the nasty smell of the round things. I really didn’t want to know what they were, so I didn’t look.

The first shot missed.
Crap,
I thought as I heard the sound of it hitting the metal wall. The second shot hit and shattered one of the bulbs. I had two shots left and two lights. The next shot found its target and shattered the light. I was feeling quite good about myself at this point. The last shot went wide and bounced off the back wall like the first.

Now what, I thought. With two lights down, I could always just shimmy up there and try to push it down or something. I took a running leap and caught the top edge of the crate. I grunted as I pulled myself up. I had just cleared the top with my chest when I felt a sharp pain in my right side. I heard the tearing of my clothes and skin as I pulled myself further up. I felt whatever I had snagged rip my flesh open.

I heard the first drop of blood hit the metal floor.
Shit,
I thought. There was a very hungry and angry vampire in the box and now I was bleeding. I carefully lifted myself to the top of the crate, managing not to incur any more damage. There was only enough room for me to lie on my stomach. It burned, but it would heal fast. I reached out and knocked the last light down. It shattered.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I shimmied my way to the front. The front of the crate was easy to swing open. There was a small amount of light coming from
outside and with my night vision I could see almost as well as if it was day. I stuck my head in from the top and saw Dante. His eyes were a deep glowing red and he was paler than I’d ever seen him. Not a good sign.
I’d better tread carefully,
I thought.

“You can come out now. Do you think this makes us even now?” I asked lightly. I knew he could smell the blood. I hoped he wasn’t too far gone. I didn’t want to hurt him.

“Of course, Natalya,” he said. “I thank you. Now you need to get out of here. It’s you that they set this little trap for. So get down here, you and I need to get out of here fast.”

“I’m bleeding, not like I really need to tell you that.”

“I know. You’ve nothing to fear from me. I can control myself. We need to hurry though.”

I grabbed a hold of the door
jamb and folding myself in half, slid out from the top and dropped in front of Dante. I went to the front of the container. He was right behind me.

“Follow me. Radek parked the car about a mile from the gates,” I said, turning to Dante. I was about to say something else when a pain shot through my head, bringing me to my knees. It was blinding. I hit the ground hard, clenching my head. I felt Dante’s arms come around me. I wanted to scream, but bit my tongue so that I couldn’t. I could taste my own blood. White hot flashes of pain went through my head.

I heard Dante’s voice, “Dek, get to the car now. Nat is down. I have her, but we have to get her out of here now.” The others must have caught up with me.

“Give her to me,” growled Radek.

“We don’t have time, Dek – we need to get her out of here.” Dante was holding me firmly against his chest. I could hear footsteps behind us as Dante ran. I wanted to scream in pain, but knew that it wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t want to cause more of a disturbance than we already had. I felt Dante slow. I couldn’t open my eyes to see where we were, but I could smell the vehicle that we’d come in, and I could hear running footsteps. I guessed it was Radek. I was right.

“What the hell happened?” he said.

I could hear the distress in his voice. I forced my eyes open and looked at him. His brown eyes were glowing yellow. I could smell his fur close to the surface.

“Just get us out of here. Now,” Dante said. He jumped into the back with me still in his arms.

I heard the keys go flying. Madon must be driving. I saw Gregory jump in the front passenger seat. Radek was already in the back with us. I let out a scream of pain and thrashed around, desperate for it to stop. I could hear Dante saying something to Radek in a low voice, but couldn’t make out what it was. The pain intensified.

It took the two of them to hold me down. I was fighting them blindly. I really didn’t want to hurt them
, but I didn’t have any control over my body at the moment. I could feel the warm tears making their way down my ice cold cheeks. I tried not to cry out, but the pain was excruciating. Dante was holding my legs on his lap as I tried to kick out. My head was resting in Radek’s lap and he had my arms pinned. My whole body was going into spasms of pain as they held me tightly to keep me from hurting myself or anyone else.

“There’s a very powerful vampire in her head,” Dante whispered to Radek.

If I’d been able to speak or think, that might have made sense, but it didn’t.

“What? I thought you vamps couldn’t do that kind of shit to us,” Radek snarled. He was close to shifting.

“We can if the creature is willing or young enough and we’re powerful enough,” Dante snapped back.

I could smell the anger coming from both of them, and it wasn’t helping.

“So you’re saying that she let someone do this to her?” Radek’s voice held disbelief.

“It’s one explanation. Another would be if it happened when she was a child. It would also explain her memory lapse.”

The thoughts weren’t connecting in my mind, but I knew that what they were saying was significant.

“What do you mean?” Radek was still snarling. The scent of him was helping with the pain. I knew he would make it stop. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did.

“If she tried to break the hold of the vamp, it would explain why she can’t remember anything before she woke up.” I could tell from Dante’s voice that he was trying to calm down.

“So why is this happening now?” Radek asked.

“That vampire is in the area. They’re after her. I heard that much just before you got here.”

“So this is about her. Why did they grab you then?” Radek asked.

“They thought I was her lover. They had seen us out together and figured she would come for me,” Dante said.

“But you’re not, right?” Radek asked, the stress evident in his voice.

The pain was too much; I let out a moan. Radek was rubbing his hands along my arms.

“Of course not, you idiot. Not that it matters. Anyway, the first thing we need to do is create some distance between her and the vampire,” Dante said.

“Does it work like with you and Gregory?” Radek asked.

“No, he won’t be able to find her. He’ll only be able to affect her if she’s in the same area as him. The closer he is, the more control he has. She’s fighting it – that’s why it’s causing her pain.”

“How much longer can you go without feeding?” Radek asked.

“I need to feed tonight.”

I could feel that Radek was calming down as well. My skin felt raw, but the feel of his hand stroking my face and head was soothing. The pain in my head was decreasing. I wasn’t struggling anymore. My eyes were still closed and my breathing still ragged.

I’d only gotten one thing out of that whole conversation. The faster we got away from this place, the less pain I would be in. A tear ran down my cheek and Radek’s thumb caught it and rubbed it across my skin. I turned my head into his abdomen, breathing in his scent. My muscles were still twitching like I had been electrocuted. Radek gently pulled me closer. His warmth spread into me.
 

“When we get to the house, you take off to go feed and don’t
be long. I’ll pack everything. Once you get back, we’ll go to the coast. Will that be far enough for now?” Radek said, his voice getting softer as I relaxed against him. His hand was still petting my hair. It felt so good after the excruciating pain.