Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (21 page)

The roar of the werewolves and the shouting
coming from outside vibrated throughout the house. Then yelps from
the animals that prowled around my home became stronger and I knew
that more had joined into the fight. I was too scared to use my
senses to guess at how many.

There was no contact from Dragus as the war
raged on. I heard more screaming coming from outside, my heart
broke, because there was nothing I could do but stay here. If I
could just get outside to them, I might be able to distract the
Lycans; give the
Krieger
enough time to regroup and
attack.

When I tried to stand, I felt Dragus’
invisible hold strengthen on the tops of my arms.
“NO! Stay in
your room. I’m fine.”
I gasped when I heard Dragus in my
thoughts. His strong ghost hands stayed on top of my shoulders for
a few minutes, probably making sure I didn’t try to get out
anyway.

Trying to relax, I walked over to the corner
beside my dresser and slid down the wall. Granted the dresser held
no protection for me, but I couldn’t be seen from the door. That
way, I figure, if someone could get in here, I would at least be
hidden. Who am I kidding? That would just prolong my death.

All I could do is sit here and hope that the
Krieger
and the poor human
Nachtmann
were okay and
that worry only turned to tears. Then the fear made the tears flow
even more. What a mess this was. Why did they choose to attack here
on my land?

My cell sat on the bedside table ringing;
demanding to be answered. I materialized next to my bed, grabbed my
phone and zipped back over to my corner. Lydia was calling; she was
at work already and must be wondering where I was.

“Where the hell are you? You didn’t show up
at the R.C. and you’re not here. What’s going on?” she was furious.
I remembered that I forgot to tell her about my commitment to
Dragus. Lydia and I probably won’t be dining together anymore. But
that would have to wait, I was freaking out now.

“I…I’m at home,” I cried. “There are Lycans
everywhere! The
Krieger
are fighting them. Dragus told me to
stay in my room. I’m scared Lydia.” My voice cracked and I couldn’t
speak anymore for the tears that were streaming down my face.

“Oh Queen Elizabeth! What can I do, Char? Do
you want me to come there?” Lydia was in full freak out mode,
typical behavior for her.

“Do not leave the club! I’m fine. Dragus is
handling it. I will call you when it’s all over.” I couldn’t talk
to her when she was like this. There was no reasoning with her.
Knowing Lydia, she’s sitting there contemplating coming over to
‘help’.

My arm started to burn, not terrible pain,
just a slight burning. I wondered if I had unintentionally been
rubbing it and made it raw. I flung my phone on top of the bed and
waited. The sounds were dying down outside, but I had no clue what
was happening. The fire in my arm warmed and I wondered again what
the hell was causing this weird feeling.

Fist pounding on the door made me jump up
from the floor, but I backed into the corner. Dragus never called
or sent me a mental note that he was coming for me. I bit down on
my lip so that I wouldn’t scream. My only thought was to stay quiet
until he got there.

“Ms. Charity! Open the door!” A voice I
didn’t recognize mumbled through the metal door.

“Dragus told me not to open the door for
anyone, but him!” I shouted back.

“Charity,” Dragus’ voice was muted and
strained. I appeared at the door and unlocked the bolts. When I
opened the door, I almost collapsed. Dragus was being held by
Brilliam and his arm was draped in blood. A
Krieger
I didn’t
recognize was waiting behind them outside my room.

“He’s hurt,” Brock struggled under the
warrior’s weight. I moved over and allowed them to bring Dragus
into my room. I cleared off my bed and then had the trainees put
him right in the middle. Brilliam backed away from us slowly as
Dragus watched their every move. I didn’t even look when they
closed the door. I was too busy checking the wound on his arm.

Using my super vamp speed, I raced to the
cabinet under the sink and grabbed a few washcloths. I was back to
his side in a matter of seconds. “Were you bitten?” Oh please let
him not have been bitten.

“No
mi amado
,” he laughed. “A tree
jumped in my way. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to buy you a
tree
and
a new robe.”

I threw my arms around him and started
crying. “You scared me.” I pulled the sleeve up, exposing my wrist.
“Feed, so you can heal.” Screw tradition. He needed to heal and by
the look in his eyes, he was going to protest. Dragus pinched his
lips together and shook his head. Fine! I bit into my own wrist and
with my free hand pinched his nose. When reflexes took over, his
mouth shot open and I pressed my wrist up into his fangs, forcing
him to drink. I hissed when his teeth slipped into the wound I had
opened.

His eyes narrowed, but he took my offering,
because no vampire can resist when blood is forced into their
mouth. Dragus latched on and drank greedily. I brushed his soft
black hair out of his eyes and stroked the side of his face while
he fed. Finally, he released my wrist and smiled.

“Thank you,” he purred. “Now, it’s your turn,
mi amor
.” He reached out and pulled me over on top of him. I
should protest and refuse, because I would feel greedy. He was
hurt, but not too badly. His arm had already healed from the intake
of my blood. I then realized that my arm had been burning in the
same place that his had been injured. When I took his vein, I was
thankful that he was safe and sound. I couldn’t imagine how I would
fair if he had been seriously hurt.

His blood was not weak. It tasted of strength
and power. This was a good sign that he was not badly injured, but
I still didn’t want to weaken him. When I tried to trick him and
pull away too soon, he read my thoughts and held me in place to
finish my feeding. I groaned in defeat and he laughed. I released
my hold on his vein and closed the wounds.

“I have to go to work,” I whispered. “You are
more than welcome to stay here and rest.” Oh man, I would love to
come home from work to find him in my bed, but I couldn’t
concentrate on that. I had to get to Nights and help Lydia.

“That’s fine, I need to get back to the
office and fill out the paperwork for the incident tonight,” he
tightened his hold and tucked me into the crook in his arm. We lay
there in silence for a few minutes, before I got up to shower.

Dragus left in quite a hurry, even after I
offered to let him use my shower. From the growing length in his
pants, I figured he wouldn’t be able to resist a frolic under the
spray if he stayed. Maybe it was for the best, because Lydia would
kill me if I didn’t show up tonight. Walter’s band was playing and
I’m sure I would have to be there for closing.

Brock followed William and I to the club in
his
Krieger
Hummer. I think it’s because I had crammed both
of them into my Lexus the night before. Being the jubilant person I
am, I laughed at their lack of comfort. You haven’t seen anything
until you try to cram two humongous
Krieger
into a compact
sports sedan. It reminded me of the circus act with a bunch of
clowns.

Once inside, Lydia was right on my heels
until we reached the office. Brilliam took their post by the door,
as I settled into my chair.

After I reassured her that everything was
fine, she turned back into responsible manager mode. “I’ve booked
Walter’s band for Friday night. They don’t have anything going on
until next week anyway. I tried to negotiate with Romeo on the fee,
but he wouldn’t budge. He wants to talk with you about that.” I
looked up over the stack of invoices I was signing and
grimaced.

“Why does he want me to do it? You are just
as capable as I am,” I frowned. “I don’t want to talk to him
Lydia.” I looked at her, pleading for some help.

“You might as well get this over with,
Charity. Pay the jerk and send him on his way,” she shrugged.

She was right. I needed to just pay him now
and get him off my back. Brilliam was there to ruff him up if
needed. Of course, Dragus was sure to hear about this, in their
nightly reports. I told Lydia to send him back and I waited
nervously. Romeo was an overly persistent vampire and when he went
after what he wanted, he made sure he got it. It’s part of the
vampire nature to be forceful, but most of us learn how to keep it
subdued.

He knocked lightly and opened the door.
Romeo’s eyes bugged out of his pretty little head with he saw the
two
Krieger
posted at my door. “If you’re busy, I can come
back.” His voice was a little shaky.

“No, come on it. Don’t mind them, there just
security,” I smiled. It was also a warning to keep his grubby
little hands off of me. “Have a seat. Now let’s talk cost. What’s
your price?” I tried to rush him, but the way he walked slowly over
to the chair meant he was going to take up a lot of my time.

“Why don’t we catch up? We have all the time
in the world to talk business.” Romeo’s eyes never left my
chest.

“Romeo,” I snapped. “I have eyes!” I pointed
to my face so that he would stop making me nervous, staring at my
breasts. Brock shifted nervously in his seat. He wanted to step up
and take care of Romeo for me, but I shook my head, wordlessly
calling him off. I turned my attention back to Romeo, “Let’s talk
cost.”

“Well, for the total of four appearances, my
fee is $6000,” he paused looking up at me. “But for you doll, I’ll
make it $5500.” Ugh! I hate it when he calls me that.

“Oh, please! I’ve had better bands than
Walter’s in here and only paid them $900 a night. Do you really
think you can walk all over me, Romeo?” I was disgusted. He was
such a greedy bastard. Greedy with his women too, but I’m not going
there.

“Come on baby,” he whispered and reached over
the desk to place his hand on mine. I looked up and saw Brilliam
jump to their feet. I held them back with a slight shake of my
head, again. Once they were seated, I jerked my hand from under his
and leaned in to stare him straight in his pretty boy face.

“I’ll write a check for $4000, Romeo. That’s
my limit. If you don’t like it, you can leave now and I will write
a check for the two performances at $800 each. Either way, you make
money. You need to decide if you really want to take me for a fool
or not.” I relaxed my gaze and leaned back in my chair. “You think
it over and get back to me. Here’s my card. Why don’t you just call
me when you make your decision?”

With nothing more than a nod, Romeo left the
office a little miffed at my boldness. I let out a heavy sigh and
called to the bar to have someone bring me a drink. While I waited,
I turned off my cell phone and stuffed it into my pocket, not
wanting to hear from Romeo anytime soon.

The phone rang as I waited for my Merlot.
“Nights, Charity speaking,” I answered hoping it was Dragus.

“Hey girl, it’s Kai,” she sounded stressed
and that made me concerned. “I received a call from a vamp doctor
over at Sacred Heart. He wants me to see him about this potion. I
don’t know if I trust him and I wanted to call you to see what you
say.” I wondered if Dragus had talked to his doctor friend at the
hospital and got him to agree to work with the witches. Hopefully
modern medicine mixed with a little witchcraft could cure the
hybrids. I had no clue who this doctor was that she was talking
about.

“What’s his name?”

“Dr. Christopher Mason. He says he studies
medicine and wants to help me with the potion.” She sounded a
little uneasy. Kai only trusted those who she is close too. I don’t
blame her, technically she was a mortal. Most witches don’t work
with vampires, as a general rule.

Kai and I have always had a weird friendship.
We trusted each other completely. She tried to help me find any
remaining family that I might have. I had paid Kai to try to
contact my mother’s spirit, but since my mother had died peacefully
her soul never did linger. She moved on rather quickly. Most souls
will linger somewhere between here and their eternal resting place
for as long as a hundred years, but dear ole mum was ready for her
forever home.

“Dragus never mentioned to me that he was
planning on doing this. Don’t go there until you hear from me or
Dragus.”

I was momentarily distracted by Brock’s phone
ringing in his pocket.

“No sir,” Brock whispered. “Yes, sir…Yes,
sir…Okay, sir. I will tell Ms. Charity. Okay, goodbye.” Brock
closed his phone and looked up at me. His side of the conversation
made absolutely no sense to me.

“Dragus wants you to call him,” Brock’s voice
was a little scratchy. I hope Dragus wasn’t chewing him a new one.
He must have tried calling while I was on the phone with Kai and
got my voicemail. Then he called my cell, but it was in my pocket
shut off.
Oops
.

Kai was still waiting on my answer. “Let me
check out this doctor and I will call you back.”

I immediately called Dragus before Brilliam
lost their jobs. Abby scooted in with my goblet of Merlot mix and
as she left I noticed her smile at William. He watched her from the
corner of his eyes as she slipped out the office door.

“
Mi amor
,” he answered. “I tried
calling and the office phone was busy and the cell phone went to
voicemail.”

“Sorry,” I whispered. “I was on the office
phone with Kai and I shut off my cell so that I didn’t have to deal
with Romeo again tonight.” Oops! Crap, I wasn’t going to tell him
that.

“Again,” Dragus growled.

“Don’t worry, it was strictly business,” I
sighed. “We had to negotiate a price for the band. Brilliam was
here and everything is okay.” William cleared his throat and I
pierced him with my gaze, threatening him to say something to
Dragus.