Dragon Heat (21 page)

sparing to stop these abductions on my people.‛ Tardieh looked at

Zoricah tenderly. Will her heart stop having palpitations every time he

looked at her?

Forcing her mind to focus on the task at hand once more, she said,

‚But I’m afraid we’re not completely done yet. We need to find out where

the bastard who is behind this is hiding.‛ Zoricah took Deirdre’s hands on

hers. ‚I know this is very painful for you, Dee, but we need your help.‛

Prompted by Zoricah and Tardieh, Deirdre told them everything

she knew about the abductions. She had been taken away at a concert in

New York City. She remembered dancing with some humans and

drinking cocktails, then waking up in the trunk of a car. She had first been

taken to a warehouse that smelled like rotting flesh and manure; then she

had been transported to the farmhouse where they'd found her. Tears

streamed down her cheeks when she recounted her ordeal and her

captor’s experiments.

‚I believe he was trying to create a hybrid razbian race by mixing

our genes. None of the other females survived the labor,‛ she said through

her tears. ‚He used to give us a foul smelling formula that made us so

tired and numb at the same time.‛

‚Maybe they are trying to come up with the perfect soldier, one

that has the strength of a vampire and the abilities of a dragon but is easy

to command like the razbians,‛ Dyam suggested.

‚And he was always taking samples of our tissue, our fluids, our

blood with those weird tools of his,‛ Deirdre added, seeming to agree

with Dyam’s theory.

‚What weird tools?‛ Tardieh asked, narrowing his eyes.

‚Hmm, he had a few. One looked like a metallic pear, and he used

it in one of the vampires<‛ Deirdre shivered. ‚It was truly awful.‛

Tardieh looked sharply at Zoricah.

‚Do you think it’s Vrajitor?‛ she asked him.

‚It’s got to be. I remember very clearly how proud the

motherfucker was of his gadgets,‛ Tardieh replied between clenched

teeth. After seeing the twins widen their eyes, he added, ‚I apologize for

the foul language, ladies.‛

‚Do you remember being on the road for a long or a short period of

time, Deirdre?‛ Zoricah asked.

After thinking for a while, Deidre answered, ‚Quite a short time,

like a couple of hours or so.‛ She put her hand on her forehead as if trying

to contain a headache. ‚It’s hard to be exact because they gave me

something; I was drifting on and off all the way to that first warehouse.‛

Drew sat on the floor and started massaging her sister’s feet.

Immediately, images of Tardieh’s hands on her feet flooded Zoricah’s

mind. His strong hands massaging her legs, followed by his lips tracing its

way to her< She noticed Yara’s eyes on her. Blushing, Zoricah looked

away.

‚Hikuro, get me a list of all abattoirs located on one hundred fifty

mile radius around New York City,‛ Tardieh said, saving her from public

humiliation. ‚Joel, find out if anyone has seen anything in that concert. I

want a description of everyone who danced close to Deirdre that night.

Dyam, we will need extra ammo for Zoricah’s fighters.‛

The three vampires left the room to complete the tasks given by

their king.

‚It’s time to get ready. We will reconvene back here in one hour,‛

Zoricah told her fighters.

‚Deirdre, Drew, you are welcome to stay here in my castle while

we're out on the mission,‛ Tardieh said standing up, ‚But I can also offer

you an escort should you wish to leave for your homeland right away.‛

The twins looked at each other; then Drew answered for them both.

‚We thank you for your hospitality, your highness, and we are honored to

accept your invitation to stay.

‚We would like to wait for your return,‛ Deidre added, bowing

low.

Zoricah stood up and gathered her girls to find Dyam and get

ammo’d up.
So that was it
, she thought to herself. Tonight they were going

to end these bloody abductions one way or another.

* * * * *

Sam was just leaving the billiard room when she felt eyes upon her.

She looked suspiciously around the hallway, the library entrance, the high

ceiling, and then finally at the staircase. Hikuro was watching her. The

light coming from the corridor cast an eerie shadow on his tall figure. As

soon as he saw she had noticed him, he took a step forward. His beautiful

chiseled jaw was hard, his hypnotic narrow eyes were cold as ice.

She didn’t want any confrontation—Apa Dobrý knew how hard

she had been trying to avoid his fiery stares ever since they met again in

the park—so she started walking down the long hallway, ignoring him.

As soon as she turned around, he appeared in front of her.
Damn it!

‚What do you want, Hikuro?‛ she asked, trying to sound more

confident than she felt. He could be a very intimidating man or male as

the magical races referred to them.

Not giving him the satisfaction of knowing how nervous he made

her feel, Sam lifted her chin up, taking on a nonchalant posture. ‚Hikuro, I

know we got off on the wrong foot, and I am sorry for that. But I am not

going to apologize for what happened at the nightclub.‛ She tried hard to

keep her hands from shaking.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, as if he didn’t believe she had dared to

mention the occasion to him.

‚We need to do what is necessary to accomplish our missions, the

same way you vampires have to as well,‛ she added sounding very

professional.

His features took on the coldest stare Sam had ever seen in her life.

‚I am watching you, human,‛ Hikuro said darkly. Then taking a step

closer, he added, ‚Tardieh may have been smitten by your leader’s cunt,

but I am not as easily deceived.‛

Hearing such offense against the woman who had saved her life

made Sam’s blood boil in fury. Without being able to stop herself or

wanting to she closed her fist and punched Hikuro in the jaw. Just to be

sure he felt it good, she added a few energy bolts to it. His head snapped

sideways with the blow.

‚The only thing you should be watching is your filthy mouth when

talking about Zoricah,‛ Sam said still wanting to punch him a few more

times. How dare he? How dare he talk about Zoricah like—

Sam never finished that thought. Out of nowhere, she felt her body

being dragged backwards a few feet and hitting the wall. When she

recovered, she saw Hikuro’s dark eyes a few inches from hers. He was

securing her in place by her wrists which had been slammed against the

wall above her head. She tried to kick him, but he quickly moved his

knees between her legs, effectively blocking her blows. Sam felt his

muscular body enclosing hers, pressing it against the wall. She couldn’t

avoid memories of their kisses at the club. Hot, passionate, wild.

‚Next time you hit me, woman, I
will
hit you back,‛ he warned her.

Sam tried to remind herself that the man she'd kissed at the club

was completely different from the ogre holding her against the wall. ‚Oh

please. Don’t make me laugh with fake chivalry, vamp.‛ She snorted. ‚If

you want to trounce your frustrations by going at me, that’s perfectly fine.

I can take you anytime, anywhere.‛

‚Ha!‛ It was his turn to snort sarcastically. ‚You? Take me?‛

‚Anytime, anywhere,‛ Sam repeated challengingly.

‚Like right now?‛

‚Yeah, right bloody now, vamp!‛

Yelling obscenities at him, she tried to get her wrists free, but

Hikuro held on to them tightly. Damn it, he was really strong! So she

focused on using the only weapon she had: her extremely volatile energy.

Taking deep breaths, she brought her energy forth. When she felt her

hands tingle with little shocks, she channeled power to her wrists, her

legs, her breasts and everywhere else his body was touching hers. His

eyes went wide in realization of what was about to happen.
Yeah, that’s

right, Hikuro, you’re about to get fried…again.

His lips smashed into hers, making Sam lose her concentration

completely. It was an angry kiss but not violent. She expected him to back

away after successfully blocking her attack. But she was wrong. His lips

caressed hers; his tongue massaged hers invitingly, wanting more. Sam

felt her body lighting up all the way to her core. She couldn’t stop herself

and kissed him back with the same eagerness. His hands finally released

her wrists and enveloped her waist. His hips met hers. His long hard shaft

pressed against her. Sam released a soft moan in response. She felt his

expert hands traveling over her breasts, caressing them, teasing her.

‚Thank you for your professional services,‛ he whispered in her

ear, shoving something down her cleavage.

Cold wind replaced the heat of his body. Sam reached for the top of

her dress and found a bunch of dollar bills between her breasts.

Frozen in place, she watched Hikuro walk down the hallway and

disappear into the shadows. She was still holding the bunch of dollar bills

in her hand when teardrops of pure light started streaming down her

cheeks.

It was quite a chilly night for the usually steamy New York

summer. Zoricah crouched beside Tardieh on the grass behind a large

hedge plant. The slaughterhouse complex in front of them consisted of

two buildings bordered by an electrical fence, which was marked out by

four surveillance towers. The main structure was a long warehouse with a

tall, arched tin roof and concrete walls. Apart from the twelve small

windows spread across the south and north walls, there were only two

exits: the main one faced east, and a smaller one located on the opposite

side. The second building was an abandoned cattle shed, which was being

used as a makeshift parking lot.

After Hikuro and Joel returned with the information Tardieh had

asked, they'd narrowed down the list of possible slaughterhouses that

could be sheltering their enemy’s operations to three. After a little more

digging, they'd found out that only one, located in Columbia County,

about one hundred twenty-five miles north of New York City, had

changed owners in the past twenty-four months and apparently was no

longer in operation.

They had planned the surprise attack dividing the seven warriors

into four groups. Sam, Yara, and Joel would attack from the south while

Zoricah and Tardieh would once more create a diversion at the main gate

located on the east side, attracting as many guards as possible, leaving

Hikuro and Dyam clear to free the hostages probably being kept inside

the main building. But once they all arrived at the destination expecting

an abandoned slaughterhouse, they had quite a surprise. It was not

abandoned; it was buzzing with activity. The high electrical fence was

being guarded by four razbians positioned in the watch towers. There

were heavily armed razbian fighters in front of the main building, more

by the fence’s main gate, and a few more were removing contents out of

the main building and loading them into two container trucks.

‚Tardieh, they are relocating,‛ Zoricah whispered.

‚Vrajitor most likely did not want to take any risks after we

destroyed the farmhouse near Lake Placid,‛ Tardieh agreed.

He was about to speed-dial their teams and order the attack when a

group of fifteen female vampires were dragged out of the house. They

were tied up in silver chains by the wrists and ankles. There were two

razbian guards poking them with their rifles, forcing them toward one of

the container trucks. One of the females, who seemed to be a little bit less

drugged than the others, tried to punch the guns out of their hands and

was rewarded with the rifle’s butt to her temple. She stumbled sideways,

dragging the others down to the ground with her. The two razbians

started kicking them to stand back up. Some females didn’t even try to

block their blows. After a few tense moments, the females managed to

stand up and were promptly locked inside the container truck.

Zoricah saw Tardieh’s fangs extend fully. He was breathing

heavily, his bright red eyes locked on the two razbians abusing the female

vampires.

‚We need to move fast,‛ he said, his jaw tight with anger.

Zoricah speed-dialed Hikuro and Dyam, who were hidden half a

mile north of the property, waiting for their signal. ‚Joel, change of plans.