Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (6 page)

“What is it
Krieger
? I’ve got to get
to the Red Cross,” I demanded.

“The
Nachtmann
Keith Pullman saw Adam
Castillo at your property line this afternoon. Did you know him
prior to the incident at your business?” This was business, not
pleasure.

I opened the door and invited Dragus into my
home, standard protocol; vampires have to be invited in and all
that. I sat in my big comfy recliner while muscle boy sat on the
couch. He took up two-thirds of the space. Man he’s huge!

“Dragus, I assure you, I have never seen him
before the other night.”

“Well, I don’t know why he came all the way
out here, unless he wants you for something,” he grimaced. I
noticed how his face momentarily pinched, like he was taking this
whole Adam thing personally.

“Me!” I squeaked. Why would he want to get to
me? Could it be for throwing him out of my club? I shivered and
mentally checked my security here at the house. Everything was up
to date. There had been a total overhaul on my home just a few
months ago. Top of the line surveillance, bomb resistant steel door
to my resting place, and high powered outside lighting topped off
the list of new additions.

“I just wanted you to know that there will be
someone here watching over your home day and night, just in case he
returns,” he said proudly while sitting straight as a board in his
seat. What does he do on his day off? Is he always so formal?

Dragus assured me again that he would have a
Krieger
check on the house periodically throughout the
night. I think he was going a little above and beyond his job
title, for one victim. Just before he left for the evening, he
slipped me a business card. “Keep my number handy. If you need
anything, please call me.” I nodded and walked him to the door.

I called Lydia to share the news of the big
bad vampire-wolf hybrid lurking around my house; she was not happy.
Lydia was a little paranoid about security. She kept a daytime
Nachtmann
and paid extra for another one who stayed at her
place at night. I whole heartedly agreed with her on one thought;
your home was your sanctuary; a safe place where you shouldn’t be
harmed, day or night. But I was comfortable with my precautions at
home.

“Why don’t you stay home,” she suggested. “I
will take care of things here tonight.”

“I think I will. First, I’m going over to the
clinic, but I promise to come right back.” I assured her.

On the way back from the Red Cross, I watched
the road looking for any sign of Adam. The trees draped carefully
alongside the two lane road that my house was on. Almost like a
protective blanket in the night. I wasn’t fooled; these trees were
the very thing that kept creatures of the night, like me, cloaked
in secrecy.

I was a little on edge wondering why he was
hanging around my house. How did he know where I lived? Could I put
my trust in the
Krieger
and
Nachtmann
? They know what
they are doing. I shouldn’t be so worried.

Pulling in the driveway, I used my heightened
senses to listen for something, anything that might be trouble. I
had to admit, I was a little restless having to return to my house
alone, but soon relaxed a little after I parked in the garage.

Tonight was going to be for catching up on
housework. Yes, even vampires have to clean. Clothes get dirty
whether you are human or otherwise. The house needs dusting,
bathrooms need cleaning and blah, blah, blah. I hate it, but it has
to be done. So, with that thought, I turned for the laundry room,
only to be stopped by the phone.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Charity, guess what?” It was Lydia in all
her perky happiness. She was bursting at the seams, wanting to tell
me something.

“What?” I had to laugh at her enthusiasm.

“Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome was just here
looking for you. I told him you took tonight off.” She sounded
pleased, like she was sending me a Valentine’s Day gift early.

“Well great! What did he want?” Yeah, my
voice was now defiantly showing disgust.

“Nothing much, just wanted to know where you
were.” I could almost hear her shrug. “Look, I got to go. Jackson
needs some more booze from the locker. Talk to you later.”

Great! What the hell did he want, now? I’m
pretty sure I’ll find out soon. He probably wanted to annoy me a
little more.

Just as I closed the lid on the washing
machine, I felt my mind shift. Someone was reaching out to me and I
hated the feeling of being in another vampires mind.

I locked my muscles down in place to hold
myself where I stood. The telepathy seeped into the folds of my
brain, showing me what the other being saw. For a moment, my world
went black. Small sparks filled my vision until they quickly faded
and I was standing in the heavily dense forest. The view I was
seeing was hazy, like a thin layer of clouds covered my sight.

Help me! Please, you have to help me?
The voice that echoed through my mind was that of a male, but
distinct heavy panting made it sound more like an animal.

I let my senses range inward, feeling for a
sign as to who was speaking to me. Pain, what I experienced can
only be described as debilitating. It took every bit of my
willpower to keep the connection when all I wanted to do was run
away.

“Who are you?” I begged. “
Where
are
you?” The pain became so much, I could only cry. I experienced what
he was feeling. The bones and muscles in his body were stretching
and bending; causing extreme pain. I felt like my bones were being
ripped from the joints.

A..Adam
, he paused.
You have to
help me, my memories, they’re fading. I’m lost...
His voice was
soft, but extremely shaky.

“What do you want me to do?”

Please, don’t… kill me
, he begged.
There has to be a cure. I hurt, please! Help me.
His voice
started fading. I needed more information from him, but before I
could speak, the pain peaked and I screamed. The connection between
us was very strong; strong enough to feel everything that his mind
and body experienced.

While I screamed, my body convulsed. The pain
was worse than the fire I felt when that kid scratched me with the
stake. Adam’s body felt like it was being stretched to capacity.
His bones were on the edge of cracking from the pressure. A little
piece of me knew that pain was not mine, but through the connection
it felt as though my body was the one burning and stretching.

As the connection faded, I promised myself I
would help Adam. Finding him was going to be a problem, one that
was now mine to solve. He begged me to not let them kill him. The
Lycan poison was taking his humanity; he was struggling to hold on
to his memories. If he didn’t get control over it, he would go
mad.

The convulsions in my body increased as I
returned to myself; the pain all but vanished. Someone was shaking
me; annoying me. My eyes flashed open and as my vision cleared, I
noticed I was at an odd angle. Instead of looking at the washing
machine, I was staring at the ceiling. So much for holding on
tight; I had fallen out in the floor.

“Charity!” Dragus’ voice thundered in my ear.
His huge hands were wrapped around my shoulders and he was the one
shaking me. Even though my eyes were open, he continued to
shake.

“What!” I said, annoyed. Fighting him off, I
staggered to my feet.

“Who were you connected too?” he demanded, in
that storm ridden voice. His eyes narrowed, watching for me to lie.
How the hell did he know I was a telepath? Damn
Krieger
,
they knew everything about everyone.

Part of the governments restrictions were
that vampires must register with the city. Paperwork, fingerprints
and DNA were required before someone could become a citizen.
Documentation of abilities was a requirement. Changing someone from
human to vampire also took loads of paperwork and had to be
approved by a judge, human of course. Some lawyer in California
even proposed a new law that humans could have the option of being
turned written into their living wills. So instead of life support,
they could opt for emergency vampirization, as I like to call
it.

“No one you need to be concerned about,” I
lied. Well, I had too. Adam begged me not to tell and for some
crazy reason, I felt obligated to help him. “Why are you here?”

“Do not change the subject on me, answer my
question,” he thundered. It was then that I realized that Dragus
already knew that Adam was a telepath. Although he looked mad, I
couldn’t help but notice how much concern he used in his voice. His
features hardened just slightly as he watched for my answer.

“No!” I yelled.

“Charity, please tell me,” he begged, his
sultry voice returned. He used my first name and damn did it make
me smile. His words rolled off his tongue like a seductive purr.
That threw me off guard and for a second I almost spilled.

“No,” I whispered.

He reached up to cup his hands around the top
of my head; for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. Yeah,
well, reality sucks, and his intentions struck me quicker. I jumped
back and knocked his hand away.

“Oh, no you don’t
Krieger
! You do
not
read my mind, unless you have my permission,” I growled.
Dragus and his band of warriors had the ability to read thoughts,
but only with touch. By law, they must have a civilian’s permission
or a government court order to do it. I have never let a
Krieger
clasp their big meaty paws around my skull, and I
don’t plan on letting Dragus do it now.

“My apologies,” he bowed. “You startled me,
Charity. I heard screaming and I took it upon myself to enter your
home to help you. I found you rolling around on the floor crying
and grabbing your head. Are you hurt?”

I bit back the accusations I wanted to fling
at him, because he was worried. How romantic was that? Big bad ass
warrior, busting through my door to defend me, and he used my first
name instead of
my lady
. Ah, swoon!

“I’m fine. These things happen all the time,”
I swatted my hand out to the side, dismissing his concern. “Why are
you here?”

“I spoke with Lydia Duncan earlier; she told
me you were staying home tonight. So, I expanded my rounds to
survey your property.” He spoke so nonchalantly, I totally bought
his excuse, at first.

The way Dragus looked at me held a deep
compassion; like he was truly worried for my safety. Well, that was
his job. Right? No, there was something else there in his eyes.
Could he have really been in my dreams all those years ago? Does he
know who I am?

He held my gaze for a few seconds too long,
and then looked away. Man, he was hard to read. I never really knew
how to deal with him.

“Well, go ahead and make your sweeps. I have
laundry to do,” I snapped. All of a sudden his eyes narrowed and
his nose twitched, like he smelled something bad. Before I could
turn away, he grabbed my hand at the tips of my finger and in one
swift move he slid the sleeve of my sweater up, exposing my wound
from a few nights before.

“Oh! My lady, you have not healed,” he
gasped, carefully examining my arm.

“I, uh yeah,” I stuttered. “I used the
ointment and took some blood, but it didn’t heal very well. I’m
hoping after tonight’s sleep, I should be better.”

Dragus dropped the hold on my hand and
immediately removed his leather coat. He was dressed in his
standard issued black
Krieger
shirt. His biceps were so huge
that the end of the short sleeves protested by hugging those
luscious arms. I was momentarily distracted and didn’t notice his
wrist held up to my face.

“Take my blood, my lady. It should heal you
proper. I can smell that the wound is infected, most likely that
stake was made of Hawthorne,” he suggested. Hawthorne wood is one
of the strongest materials to make a stake out of. Vampires are
highly allergic to it. If it didn’t kill you, most likely you would
get a bad infection from the wound, and warrior blood was an
awesome antibiotic.

Well, I wasn’t going to argue. Rumor has it
that drinking from a
Krieger
is just as good, if not better,
than a hot night in the sack. Bottoms up! I grasped his arm with my
hand and noticed it only wrapped halfway around his wrist.

I sank my fangs into his vein and drank. As I
drank, I floated. The taste was immeasurable; nothing like it in
the world. Oh man, it was sweet like honey. No! This was much
sweeter. If you could ever consume strength and power, all wrapped
up in a sweet juicy package, this was it. I know I moaned a few
times, but I couldn’t help it.

“Charity, enough,” he whispered. Dragus
pulled my chin away from his wrist and when I looked up, he was
smiling. My eyes stayed locked on his as I washed my tongue
seductively over his wrist.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I looked down at my
arm and watched as it healed completely. Then, I quickly checked
his wrist for any sign that I devoured his skin, because I’m fairly
sure I wasn’t gentle with him. There were two faint pink marks left
from my bite. Good, because I didn’t want to embarrass myself
today, looking like a slob.

“I’m taking off work for the next two nights,
but will make sure someone is here to watch your land. Please be
nice to the
Nachtmann
,” he laughed. “He’s only being told to
do what he is paid for.”

Well, didn’t he just give me an idea, “I want
to hire him to be my permanent
Nachtmann
; can you arrange
that?” Dragus looked at me like he was trying to figure out what my
change of mind was for, but I didn’t say anything else.

“That can be done tonight. I will send the
paperwork with him in the morning.” After a second he smiled. He
seemed pleased.