The Enemies of Vengeance Read online

  "And you think that no one has ever asked for her to kiss them before she feeds on them. No one has ever been with her that knew her true nature before they started. No one ever knew how their encounter may end," Marcy said.

  "I suppose so. It never occurred to me that people openly offered themselves to her."

  Lucinda shook her head and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "Jon, does none of this ring a bell. None of this seems similar to you in any way?"

  I tried to think back to the stories that Thorn told me. I couldn't think of anyone or any time when she said someone had willingly offered themselves to her.

  "You really are that blind to the truth?" she asked.

  "Okay. You're going to have to tell me. I'm obviously a little bit slow. Maybe it's due to the lack of blood."

  Lucinda smiled. "You're going to kick yourself. But the similarity that I referring to is you, Jon. How did you meet Thorn?"

  It hit me. I'd been too self-absorbed to see my own reflection of desire. I had walked into that room with Thorn in the research centre, knowing full well our encounter would end up with her biting me and drinking my blood. I had wanted her to kiss me and to feed on me. Although I had been surprised when she did sink in her fangs, I think I would have been more surprised if nothing had happened. Lucinda was just asking for the same deep-seated fantasy that I had. Who was I to say her desires were wrong when mine were just the same.

  I squeezed her hand back and patted the other one on top of it. I smiled and let out a small laugh. "You are right. Strange how I couldn't see it myself. Maybe I thought my circumstances were different. But everything you say is true. And as such, I will give you what you want. It would be my pleasure to give you this experience."

  "Thank you, Jon, but I want you to mean it when you kiss me. Not just playing a part. If I don't feel it, then no blood."

  I understood her. I wanted to completely believe it when Thorn took me into her embrace, kissed me and bit me. I still wanted to think she really wanted me that night. It would not be a hard thing for me to make Lucinda believe I really meant it. She was a beautiful young woman. And she and Annabel had helped us out on a few occasions.

  "I will mean it, but this is a one time thing," I said.

  "I understand."

  I looked past Lucinda to Annabel. "Do you have any requests?"

  Annabel looked over at Marcy and then looked back at the floor again.

  "Annabel does not have the same request as Lucinda. She, is in fact, very scared at the thought of you biting her and drinking her blood. Her only request is you use your hypnotic powers to take away the fear and the pain. She wants to remember it, but she does not want to have nightmares from it."

  I nodded my head. "Annabel, don't worry. I will do everything in my powers to make it a pleasurable experience."

  Annabel looked up at me with wild eyes. "I don't want to enjoy it. I just don't want to have nightmares from it. Just keep it neutral. I have no romantic notions with regards to this. I'm not like Lucinda. I don't want to enjoy it and then want it to happen again."

  "Sorry, I misunderstood. I will make sure it doesn't hurt, and it will not emotionally scar you."

  "That is all I ask."

  "Okay. I'm glad we have that all cleared up. I think you should start with Lucinda, and then you should be able to regain enough of your powers to hypnotise Annabel. I will be timing the encounter. I've been told you can drink a pint of blood in about three minutes. I will shout stop. And then you must disengage straightaway," Marcy said.

  "I understand. Let's get on with this then. How do we start?"

  Lucinda stood up, unzipped her boots and kicked them off, and then pulled down her T-shirt on one side. She climbed onto the side of the bed and lay down next to me. I shuffled over to let her on, and I looked back at Marcy, who had a stopwatch. Annabel had sat on the grey sofa and looked away into the opposite corner of the room.

  Marcy looked from the stopwatch and back to me. "I will start the timer when you bite her."

  I looked down at Lucinda, who stared back, her eyes had gone black, pushing the blue of her iris out to the rim. Her cheeks flushed red, and she displayed a nervous smile at me. She licked her lips and brushed her hair away from her vulnerable neck.

  "Are you ready?" I asked.

  She nodded vigorously. "I think so. Don't rush the kiss, take your time, I want to remember this forever."

  "I'm sure I will remember this forever as well. You will be my first so to speak."

  Lucinda beamed. I gently lowered my lips down and kissed her. She returned the kiss, putting her hands around my back. We kissed, with our lips searching each other's out, taking time to enjoy one another's touch. Our lips tender against each other, not the frantic kissing I encountered when with Thorn.

  The act of kissing seemed to bring about a change in me, not the obvious one of excitement and desire. But my fangs tingled as if they knew what was coming. I sped up the kiss and then pulled away, sucking at her bottom lip. Her eyes shone up at me, and she leaned up and dotted one final kiss on my lips, like a seal of approval.

  Then I followed the rest of the instructions. I kissed her chin and worked my way down her neck, planting each kiss tenderly until I reached her glowing veins, bulging on her neck. I leaned forward and planted one big kiss on the mark, as to let Lucinda know what was about to happen. She took a deep breath, her chest moved under me, and then she breathed out.

  My fangs shot out and my eyes burnt, they both transformed ready to feed. I placed my mouth over her neck and squeezed my jaws together. My fangs sliced through her tender flesh, and she let out a little scream as they punctured into her blood vessels. Her hands gripped around my shoulders. I sucked the blood in, feeling its coppery taste slide down the back of my throat.

  Her body tensed up, her heart pounding against my chest. Suddenly, images flashed in my mind of a monster eating her flesh; they were her thoughts and emotions. They had swung from a passionate embrace to monstrous devouring. I had to do something before she freaked out. I focused my thoughts on her.

  Stay calm my love, everything will be okay. You can trust me, you are safe.

  With those commands, her muscles relaxed and her heart slowed down. The monstrous images faded, and I continued to suck her blood aided by relaxing psychic messages. I held my left hand on her shoulder and right hand on her waist to hold her steady. As the blood passed into me, I could feel my strength returning.

  "Stop. Three minutes is up. Stop, Jon."

  It took all my willpower to break off and move my head back to look Lucinda in the eyes. I wanted more blood; my rejuvenation had not been completed yet. I looked down at Lucinda through my Dragan's eyes, and the blood on my chin soaked into my flesh. She looked up at me, her face recoiling in horror. My body reverted. My eyes changed back to normal and fangs retracted. She smiled as she looked into my human eyes.

  Marcy walked over and handed Lucinda a wad of bandages she placed on her neck. Lucinda held them down with one hand and swung off the bed. She stood up and walked over to the side and sat down on the sofa next to Annabel, who had turned around during the event and watched the whole thing.

  "Thank you," I said.

  "It's a pleasure. Does this now mean we are bonded? As you have drunk my blood," Lucinda asked.

  I didn't know the answer. I knew Thorn and I were bonded, but that was due to the fact the vampire formula was made from her blood. I didn't know if by merely drinking another person's blood, it created a psychic bond.

  "I am not sure. Thorn never told me about this. As you are my first, we will find out soon enough," I replied.

  Lucinda seemed to like this answer, and she smiled back as she sunk into the sofa.

  I looked over at Annabel, who looked away to Marcy.

  Marcy looked over to me. "Jon, Annabel is ready for you."

  This time I was going to have to make all the running. I climbed off the bed and crossed over to Annabel. She looked up as I approached, her
hands clenched on her lap, her bottom lip tucked under her teeth. I knelt down in front of her and placed my hands on top of her clenched fists. "There is nothing to fear. You can trust me. You can see Lucinda is okay. Will you do me this great favour?"

  She nodded back and un-bit her bottom lip, stood up with her hands in mine and looked into my eyes as we rose. I walked backwards to the bed, and she followed and then stopped. "Here will be fine. I don't want to go on the bed. Like I said, I don't have any romantic notions. This is purely transactional."

  I nodded. "I understand. We can do it right here, standing up. I will give you a few seconds to prepare. If you want to pull back your clothing and move your hair out the way."

  She looked up into my eyes and nodded, then pulled her T-shirt to one side, and flicked her head back to reveal her bare neck. I could see the jugular vein pumping away. But I needed to take my time; I didn't want to freak the poor girl out.

  "That's good," I said, and I put my hands on her shoulders and stood closer to her, looking down into her eyes. "Look into my eyes. This isn't going to hurt at all. You will feel nothing. You will feel relaxed and calm. When I bite, you will be aware of the sensation but it will not hurt. As I drink your blood, you may feel it, but again, it will not hurt and it will not worry you at all. You will stay calm the whole time. The more the blood comes out of you, the calmer you will feel. Nod your head when you are ready for me to begin."

  She took a deep breath and looked into my eyes again and nodded. Her eyes had gone as black as Lucinda's. I detected excitement, her heart beating faster, even though her body was relaxed. I leant down to her neck and gently kissed it once just so she knew I was in position. I then let nature take its course, and my fangs extended and eyes burnt red.

  I bit down, cutting into her flesh, and the blood spurted out and shot into my mouth. I sucked the red liquid down my throat and into my body. Immediately, its power surged through me, just as it had done with Lucinda's blood. All the time, I sent psychic messages to her to remain calm and stay relaxed. In return, I received flashes of images from her. The pictures I received back were surprising from someone who said they had no romantic inclination. The images were of our entwined naked bodies in her bed. And the more I sucked down her blood, the more excited and intense these emotions and images became.

  Whereas Lucinda had said this is what she wanted, but in reality of me biting her, she freaked out. Annabel was the complete opposite. She had acted scared and worried, but once started her true desires surfaced. Maybe she was afraid of how she really felt, whereas Lucinda felt like she should enjoy it.

  It felt very strange sensing and participating in her fantasy. I wanted to stop feeding on her as I felt like I was actually making love to her. But I needed to feed, and I had no right to deny her some enjoyment from her sacrifice. Thorn had always said leave them something to remember you by, give them something in return for their blood.

  "Stop, Jon, stop feeding on her now. Three minutes is up," Marcy said and tapped me on the shoulder.

  I stepped away, wiping my hand across my mouth, closing my eyes to let them go back to normal without Annabel seeing. I retracted my fangs and sucked down the last of the blood before opening my eyes again. Marcy had put an arm under Annabel to hold her steady and applied a bandage on to her bite marks. Annabel grinned at me; her eyes sparkling and she licked her lips. "Did you enjoy that?" she asked.

  "It was great. Thank you very much, I am feeling much better now," I said, as formally as possible.

  She winked at me, and Marcy walked her across to the sofa to sit next to Lucinda. I received other flashes in her mind and thoughts. It was laughter inside her head. Then I realised she put on the show on purpose, pretending to be shy and innocent and then purposefully filling her mind full of sexy images to fluster me. I smiled over at her. "Was that really necessary?" I said.

  Lucinda looked between Annabel and I. "Was what really necessary? What am I missing?" she asked.

  Annabel put a hand on Lucinda's knee. "I will tell you later. Let us both get our strength back first."

  Marcy pulled out two cans of cola and handed them over. "You girls are always up to no good, always winding each other up. I can't wait to hear what this one was about," Marcy said.

  I shook my head and sat down on the bed. The blood had given me strength. Now I had an appetite for solid food as well, so I took the tray and started digging into the beef stew and rice.

  Marcy came over and sat on the edge of the bed as I was eating. "We will wait for these girls to regain enough strength to leave. Then I will come back tonight with the phone, so you can call Thorn and make your plans."

  I nodded and guessed from her comments it was still daytime, the day after the fight with Giles.

  I finished my food, and the girls downed their sugary drinks. Marcy took the tray, and the girls said goodbye and waved. Annabel winked at me, and Lucinda giggled. They both went upstairs to exchange stories and experiences. Marcy went up last and closed the hatch behind her, locking me in the room.

  After feeding, I needed to take a rest to fully recover before speaking with Thorn that night. I lay down with a full stomach and renewed energy, and I closed my eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  I had been asleep for a while when I heard the hatch click open again. My senses were still Dragan, and I sat bolt upright. Marcy came down the stairs, closed the hatch and walked over with a cordless phone in her hand. She handed it to me and passed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

  "This is Thorn's temporary number. Give her a call and work out what to do next. I will go and sit on the sofa and wait for instructions."

  She sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs. I dialled the number and looked across at Marcy as it rang.

  "Hello, V, is that you?" Thorn said.

  "Yes, it's me. Are you okay?"

  "Of course, I am okay. I'm supposed to be asking if you're okay. How you healing? Did the girls feed you?"

  "Don't worry. Feeling much better, and yes, the girls were very generous and let me feed on them."

  "I hope you were nice to them?"

  "Of course. They are none the worse for the experience. I can't say the same for me. That story is for another time. Anyway, we need to talk about what happened, not just the attack by Giles, but my meeting with MI5."

  "So it's true. You really did meet MI5. Marcy heard you ramble something about MI5, helicopters, water, stealing a car etcetera, but we weren't sure how much of it was true and how much of it was the illness from the werewolf bite."

  "Let me tell you the truth. At Scarlett's funeral, I met Mary I used to go to college with. It turns out that Mary is an MI5 agent and was sent to college to keep an eye on me. MI5 knew the Hunters had gone rogue and had heard of the unsanctioned experiments. They were keeping an eye on me as a means of getting closer to my father. They had no idea I would be dragged into it and become a key part."

  "I wouldn't believe everything they tell you. MI5 and any of those national security types are always far more involved than you realise. So what did they want?"

  "They want an alliance with the Dragans to stop the Turned and the Hunters. If successful, they want a long term alliance to combat new people with powers. As a gesture of goodwill, Mary gave me a USB stick with some useful information. I'm not sure if I still have it, as it was in my coat."

  "Yes, we still have it," Marcy said, "it is just drying out upstairs. I haven't looked at it."

  "Did you hear that, Thorn? Marcy says we still have the USB stick. I will look at it later and find out what is on it."

  "Yes, but be careful there may be a tracking virus on it. Make sure your computer isn't logged into the Internet or anywhere close to getting Wi-Fi. It may open up a hidden program that will connect to the Internet without you knowing and send back your location as soon as it knows."

  "I will take all the necessary precautions. I will call you back once I know more."

  "What did they mean by, c
ombat people with new powers?" Thorn asked.

  "Mary said you might know already. The world is changing. Magic is seeping back into the world."

  "Yes. I have heard things from my contacts," Thorn said.

  "Like what and who?"

  Marcy coughed like she was clearing her throat. "You shouldn't stay on the call too long. It's best to keep to the matter in hand."

  "Miss Jones is right, it doesn't matter right now. There is enough going on with the Turned and Hunters. These powered individuals can't help us anyway. They have gone rogue. So your fight with the werewolf, how did it go?"

  "As you can probably guess from my condition, not very well. I just didn't know what to do against the werewolf. Its sheer size and rage just sent me into a panic. It wasn't like fighting you or fighting the Turned. Something about the wolf itself seemed to disturb me."

  "You are just not used to it. Humans have a built-in fear of wolves. Something we Dragans do not have. When you are back with me, I will ask Max to fly over so you can spar and be more prepared for the next time you fight Giles. I'm sure Giles and the other werewolf will keep tracking you until one of you dies."

  "Well, that's a very cheery thought. I will have to kill my best friend if I want to survive."

  "Sorry to be the one to tell you, but this isn't going to end well."

  I knew what she said was true. Giles wanted me dead, and I couldn't avoid him forever. He wasn't interested in talking. He just wanted revenge. It reminded me of my own recent actions, being hell-bent on bloody vengeance.

  "What about you, Thorn? What have you been up to? Have you found Cyrus yet?"

  "We have a solid lead. We are heading there tonight. Hopefully, next time we speak, I will have some news for you. Talking of which we must go and make use of the dark, and you have a USB stick to read. Call me again tomorrow night at the same time. And V, take care of yourself. Remember that I love you."

  I glanced up at Marcy, turned my head to one side with the phone. "I love you too," I said quickly, in the hope that Marcy couldn't overhear us.