Stephen (20 page)

He had more than just hit her. Eddie had beaten her so badly it was hard to tell what she might look like. Her hair was matted in blood, and her shirt front was saturated with it. She looked at Eddie, who was sitting in the corner staring at the girl. He was covered in blood, and his mouth was stained as well.

“
You bit her?” He nodded and then dropped his head. Eddie needed to be watched since she’d changed him the day before yesterday. “Did you do it right?”

“
Why does it matter? She’s going to fucking die anyway.” That was true, but he didn’t get to play as long. “I’m going to bed. You can have her if I can’t get her to talk when we get up.”

She was going to take her anyway she decided, just looking at the way she sat there staring at them both as if she was so much better than them. Velvet went to the girl after Eddie left them and lifted her chin up to look. The wound at her throat was sealed, and her face was already healing.

“
You think you’re going to live through this?” The girl jerked from her grasp and smiled. It was so much like Stephen’s had been that Velvet took a step back, which pissed her off more, and Velvet slapped her as well. “You’re fucking going to die at the next rising. But before you do, I’m going to let Stephen fuck me while you watch. Won’t you just love that, seeing your mate fucking a real woman?”

She said something, and Velvet leaned closer to hear her. “I said, when a real woman gets here, you let me know. I might pay to see that.”

Velvet lost her temper. It was always on the verge lately anyway, but her rage didn’t just spill out, but consumed her. But when she reached for the girl, something happened. A barrier kept her from touching her, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not breach it.

“
Who the hell is doing that?” Velvet looked around the room, even going as far as throwing the little bit of furniture toward the girl only to have it bounce back at her. “What the fuck is that?”

Nothing. There was not a sound from the girl, but she did smile. Velvet felt her fear again as it raced over her, and before she did something really stupid, like let her go, she left the room, slamming the door closed behind her. These two were going to die, and the sooner the better. Calling to her newest day walker, who, as far as she knew, hadn’t told her his name, Velvet had the casket brought to the room where Stephen was.

“
Put him in it, but don’t unchain him. If you do, I will kill you and every single person that has the misfortune of being in your bloodline.” He told her he would be careful. “I don’t care if you’re careful, you moron. I just don’t want him free. Not ever.”

Velvet went to their room and saw that Eddie had taken up most of the bed. Again. She was finished with him as well. He’d served her well, she supposed, and now…well, now she was done with his ass too. Going to the bedside table, she pulled out her dagger. Lifting it above her head, she came down with it in an arch and felt it as it broke bones to enter his heart.

Eddie opened his eyes as his life blood poured from him. Velvet watched as he stared at her, her body responding to his death as if he were fucking her hard. When he cried out, she did as well. A climax gripped her as hard as he had only hours before when he’d taken her in the ass.

Velvet held on to the bedpost while her body jerked and trembled with it. She felt euphoric, sated, and suddenly much energized by it. Moving his body off the bed and onto the floor, she lay on the saturated mattress and let the feeling of rest settle over her. Never had she had such a satisfying release as this.

“
Maybe I need to kill someone nightly so that I can rest in peace.” Laughing at her own double meaning, she closed her eyes and let her body go. She knew that when she rose again, she’d have the girl all to herself, and Stephen would be deep within the earth.

~~~

Clar felt his fear. She didn’t understand it because her own was making her body quake with it. When she was able to calm her own pounding heart, she reached for Stephen. He was beyond terrified; he was screaming with it.

I’m in the dark. I’m in the dark. I’m in the dark
. His litany was screaming in her head, and she had to block him for a moment. When she was calmer to hear him, she told him to shut up. His silence was almost as bad as his screams.

I’m going to get you
. She looked around the room to see what she could do to get away, and saw the gun and the blade on the table. Edward had used them both on her after he’d gotten tired of his fists, but she’d never spoken to him or whimpered, no matter the pain he caused.
You have to be calm or I won’t be able to talk to you
.

They’ve put me in the casket. I’m buried alive again
. He was panting, his voice full of terror. She knew that he had a real fear of the darkness, and her heart broke for him. When she tried to talk to him again, he kept repeating the same thing over and over.
I’m in the dark
.

I would love to have you in the dark right now
. She had to talk loudly so he’d hear her.
I’d do all manner of things to you if you were with me. First I’d start with your cock. Take it into my mouth
. He didn’t seem to hear her, so she sent him images as he’d done to her one night not so long ago. Stephen told her to stop. Then he continued. Giving up for now, she reached for Samuel. His words were of very little comfort when he realized who it was.

Christ, where the hell are you
? She tried to tell him she didn’t know, but he continued before she could.
There was blood all over the front of the house, almost as if they’d taken buckets of your blood and thrown it at the place. Then the inside wasn’t any better. Do you know who did this
?

Velvet December, the vamp from Stephen’s past. My stepfather is here as well. He’s been changed, but I think it’s recent
. She rolled her neck to feel the pull of his bites.
He bit me. Not badly, but enough that he’s drained me just a little. And this bitch, Velvet, has a new level of crazy going for her. I’m going to hurt her up pretty badly when I get free
.

She waited for him to say something, and when he didn’t, she told him about Stephen.
Yeah, I know. I tried to reach him because I could feel his fear, but it was too much. I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to reach him when he’s in this sort of state. Can you calm him
?

I’ve tried
. She looked around the room.
We’re in a house. I can see that someone has taken care of where we are. And I can smell laundry detergent and bleach. Strange I know, but I think we’re in the basement, not the sub levels of a house
.

Good to know. I don’t suppose you know if Stephen is in the same house as you. I’ve got my men out looking, but I don’t have a clue where to start
.

She told him she didn’t know either.
I think Stephen was here, but not now. They’ve buried him somewhere
. She didn’t tell him that was the cause of his crippling fear. Clar had no idea if Stephen had ever shared what had happened to him so very long ago, but she had a feeling that Samuel knew.

Vinnie said he’s had his blood. He thinks he can find him faster than we can
. She remembered that too and told Samuel that she agreed. Looking down at her chained arms, she realized that it was silver and frowned.

Shouldn’t I have some sort of reaction to silver since Stephen changed me
?
I mean, something
? He told her congratulations, and that silver was poison to her kind.
It’s not bothering me. I mean, not even a tiny bit
.

Then what are you waiting for
?
Get out of that shit
. She decided she wanted to punch him in the nose for acting as if it were no big deal. Then she felt another person trying to contact her and reached out to the person.

Hello, love. Are you in need of me
? She didn’t know who it was until he laughed. Vinnie.
Hawk and I are looking for Stephen, but if you need me to come there and get you, I can try and find you first
.

No, find him
. She started to ask him if he knew where she was but decided that she was going to do this on her own. Pulling her arm straight up, she heard the steel chair give.
I’m
going to take care of business here. You find Stephen for me. And Vinnie, you guys should be careful when you do. He’s a little stressed right now
.

I know, love. We’ve exchanged blood. And while I don’t understand why you and I have this connection, I can feel your fear for him as well. We’ll take care. I’ve told Samuel where you are, but also cautioned him to stay back. I told him you were going to take this bitch out
. She thanked him.
No problem. I would like to talk to you once this is over. There are a few things…okay, a great many things I’d like to ask you
.

Deal
. She pulled over and over on the steel, holding her arms until it finally gave way. Freeing her other arm was easier when she could use both her arms’ strength. When her legs were finally unlatched, she stood up, only to stagger back a little. She needed to eat.

Moving upwards instead of down where she knew the lair had to be, Clar searched through the house to find someone. She didn’t know if she could drink from a stranger, but Stephen needed her and she had to find him now. The first person she encountered had her stepping back in the shadows. Clar had no idea why, but she could not bite the woman who walked just down the hall from her. Just as she was ready to give up because she couldn’t make it work, another person walked by her, and she reached for him just as he moved past her.

As soon as she bit into him, she felt the rich taste of his blood and knew that he was a wolf. Drinking deeply, she looked up when something caught her eye. It was Leith, and she and a dozen or so other faeries from the house were hovering just in front of her. Clar lifted her head, hating what they’d caught her doing.

“
It is necessary.” Leith came toward her, but not close enough for her to touch her. “We have located the witch below. When you are ready, we will accompany you.”

“
You don’t need to do that. I’d rather you helped Vinnie find Stephen.”

Leith looked at the other with her and then back at her. Clar had a feeling she was going to tell her it was too late, and her heart ached with it.

“
He is well. His lordship has help from the others. Master Vicente will have no trouble locating him now.” Clar started to ask her what that meant, but the wolf struggled enough so that she remembered he was there. “Finish him.”

She knew what Leith meant. Kill him. She wasn’t one to go around murdering people simply because they pissed her off, and she shook her head. Another faerie came closer to her, and she could see his horror.

“
He murdered a woman and her child today. And the day before, another. His tastes run toward the helpless. He chases them to have their blood spiked with fear. He is a monster of the same breed as the woman below.” She nodded and looked at the man. Reaching into his mind, she saw that he’d not just killed over the past two days but all his life. Snapping his head around, she heard his neck break, and she dropped him to the ground.

The move to the sub levels was much easier than it had been for her to come up. The faeries made sure she went the right way and even showed her which door to open when they got downstairs. The woman certainly did like velvet, she thought.

The house wasn’t just done up in velvet but seemed to be made of it. The walls were papered with a dark blood-colored design that made Clar slightly sick to see. The drapes were of the same color, but a solid wall of blood-like material that had her thinking of a bloodied waterfall. Even the furniture was of the same material, but fringed in gold so that it hung in long ponytail-like fingers from each chair or table. When they stood outside the room, Clar had a moment of worry when she smelled blood.