Exsanguinate (27 page)

I
n no time
at all we were seated, beverages poured, and the boys were up to their eyeballs in BBQ sauce. Who knew dragons and werewolves could eat so much? I was actually beginning to wonder who was gonna pay for this feast. Torchy and Briggs both decided on a dark ale called Moose Drool, and Harris decided to indulge in a beer called Blue Moon. Khaldon had the waiter serve us up a bottle of Apple bloodwine, which had a wonderful aftertaste of warmed cinnamon. I wondered if he knew I was craving it from when we were out in the vestibule.

Briggs stopped chewing a few times when Khaldon and I explained what we had found at the haunted barn and then when I explained about Dakota’s toe.

“That’s okay – she doesn’t need all ten toes – I still love her and want to get her the hell out of there.” Briggs shrugged. “I don’t care where in the world she’s at. I’m not leaving until we bring everyone home.”

“Hey, Briggs, has Dakota ever mentioned anything to you about GC 89?”

He shook his head.

“The first night Ludovic contacted me, I heard Dakota scream GC 89 over the phone, and we’ve been trying to figure out what it means. We think it’s a reference to a geo cache. We’ve gone through everything. Her room, her ExsanguiNation account. Hell, I even turned her car inside out, and I can’t find a trace of it anywhere. I was really hoping you could help with this piece of her puzzle.”

Harris stopped chewing and put down his fork. “I went through the boxes I had at the house, Chey. I brought them with me, but I didn’t find anything that went that high in numbers. The last entry I found was GC 82.”

“What? Really?”

“But while you were passed out this afternoon, I found a GC to-do list inside her account. I was going to see if there was anything under that file name while we were here tonight.”

“Chey Chey – you were passed out? A little too much nipping on the bloodwine I take it?” Briggs elbowed me.

“Not quite, Briggs. Wait until I tell you the story of how Lady Caz here bagged her first dhampir. She was attacked early this morning and she turned him into her own Battle Kroc snak-pak.” Harris seemed to be bragging about my weird victory.

“No shit, Caz?”

“Yeah, Briggs, no shite.”

“Someone came after you? What the hell is going on? Is this from the same ass hat who has Dakota, Sheridan, and now your dad?” Briggs asked.

I nodded. “We’ve got a lot to catch you up on.” I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Look, Cheyenne, I found some of Dakota’s geo-cache to-do lists.” Harris picked up his tablet phone and logged into the gaming portal.

“What are you doing? We don’t have a mobile version of the game.”

“Oh yes we do. You aren’t the only one who can code and develop. I’ve been working with Briggs to show you the mock-ups on the dev server of what the mobile versions could look like.”

I smiled at him. I wanted to be terrifically excited that our game had mobile and tablet versions for the next rollout, but the news of that victory was overshadowed by the current events. After I had gotten my family back, I would remember to handsomely reward them both for such a tremendous achievement.

It wasn’t long until my fettuccine Alfredo with sundried tomato-crusted scallops arrived.

“Eat and I’ll log in and see what I can reference.” Harris pointed to my plate with his phone.

Khaldon threw down a plate of lasagna and garlic bread in nothing flat and hailed a waiter.

“Dude, aren’t you supposed to be allergic to garlic or something?” Briggs asked.

“Not any more than people are allergic to peanuts. We all have our quirks.”

Khaldon drained the rest of his third glass of bloodwine and heaved a heavy sigh. “Listen, I have some bad news, and it pertains to last night and why I wasn’t back like I said.”

I didn’t want to ask him and even though we were technically dating and exclusive, I also didn’t feel I had a right to pry, but now that he had opened the proverbial can of worms. I didn’t hold back any longer.

Torchy hailed another server. “Another round o’ firewater if ye please.”

“So what happened? You said you were gonna be back – did she not show up or something?” I tried to hold down the snideness in my voice. I didn’t want to seem too creepy a girlfriend already. “Thank the heavens Harris was close by or he would’ve had to drive up from Tampa to help me.”

“Thanks, Harris. I sincerely appreciate you showing up. You’ve always been a good chap to her.” Khaldon’s face scrunched up in pain as if he were trying to squelch down an awful headache. His eyes narrowed and then began to shift from side to side.

“I can tell you’re upset, but we’re all here – your friends. Tell us what happened that has you so shaken.” I ran my knuckle down the side of his face and then grabbed his shoulder. His eyes softened, but he remained silent.

Torchy was a little less subtle and kind from my point of view, but they’d been best pals for ages. “Just bloody well spit it out – what’s troublin’ ye?”

“Going to see Amicula was a lot worse than I had intended it to be. There is another whole thing going on bigger than your sisters, Chey.”

“Get the fuck out o’ here, that Amicula nutter again? She’s a pure mad mental,” Torchy said.

“You know her, too?” I asked.

“Aye, and I ain’t saying as I like the queer-hawk,” he replied.

“Rox – who’s this Amicula chick and what does she have to do with the kidnapping?” Briggs asked then chugged down a bit more beer.

“What do you mean, worse than Dakota and Sheridan being taken by that crackpot, Ludovic?” I set down my glass and tried to compose myself, but all of this was just too much. “How could there be more problems over and above me finding my family?”

Harris put down his phone to listen.

Khaldon continued, “You see, it is even worse than I understood at first. I knew there had been an attack on the theme park. Several vampires were found guilty of using the Solunarae lunar blood and that is what caused the attacks. I found out Amicula is the one giving out the Solunarae lunar blood and caused much of the chaos. The whole attack on the park that night was a huge ruse to kidnap you and your sisters. Cheyenne, you were attacked by one of the vampires Amicula infected with the lunar blood instead. You were only supposed to be kidnapped not attacked. Now she’s trying to entrap you by having you find Dakota and Sheridan. She wants you too, Chey.”

I rubbed my temples, trying to understand what he was saying to me. “What is Solunarae lunar blood, and why does it make vampires go crazy?”

“You see, Chey.” Harris took another swig of beer and set his glass down hard on the table. “The lunar blood gives supernaturals like me, werewolves, the ability to change our form. We carry the Solunarae gene, and we can usually control the blood and call upon its properties when we most need it. The lunar part of their blood is deadly to vamps, though. They go into a fugue, and if too much is ingested, it can bring out the blood demon inside us all.”

“A fugue? You mean like a black out? You wouldn’t have any recollection of what had happened?’ I asked. I took another sip of my wine.

Khaldon motioned to the waiter to bring another bottle. It was going to be a long night.

“You mean this Solunarae blood is like meth or crack to you guys?”

Torchy chimed in, “Aye, it’s been said ye get a few shots of the Solunarae blood in ye and ye’re good as zombified. Sometimes ye be singing to the porcelain goddess for days until it purges from ye backwards and forwards. I’ve even heard of some who have died of it.”

“So let me get this straight,” I began sounding incredulous. “Amicula asked you to the bar last night to tell you how she drugged several vampires to attack the park to cause a riot so Dakota, Sheridan, and I could be kidnapped? Is that what you are saying?” I was having a difficult time accepting this. “But I thought Amicula was my friend. She said it was by her decision alone that I am still alive.”

Khaldon ran his hand through his tousled black mane and ended up massaging the back of his neck. “That’s why I couldn’t figure out what her note meant about the sisters and that’s why I had to meet her. You need to remember she doesn’t know anything about you and me, Chey.” He took my hand. “Amicula has no idea you and I have been dating online for over two years. I had to wait and hear her out to try and find anything I could on where they might be so we could locate them.”

“Did you get the bitch to spill her guts?” Briggs asked.

I blinked up at him. “Khaldon, you mean, I could have been kidnapped as well that night? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Wait - why do you call him Khaldon?” Briggs asked me.

Khaldon replied, “That’s my real name. I’ve been going by Roxas Morgwain for several centuries now.”

Briggs nodded, took another swig of his beer, and leaned back in his chair.

“Anyway, I believe that was the plan,” Khaldon continued. “You see, Amicula is called a gatherer. She has been finding descendants from pure ancestral races to help find qualified breeders to build Queen Civetateo’s dhampir army. They’ve been planning this for decades and it is soon to come to fruition.”

“Are you saying that Dakota and Sheridan are being used to breed these … whatever you call them … dhampirs?” Briggs asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Khaldon replied.

“But I don’t understand why you didn’t come back until after noon.”

“At the bar, Amicula told me of the Queen’s grand plans, and how I should be honored to be the prized Father of her army. I needed to listen to her plans, to learn more about Dakota and Sheridan, but I couldn’t accept what she was offering me. So I refused. I told her she was a right Charlie and crazy as a nutter. I thought the jig was up when she offered me her drink, but I knew better than to drink anything already poured. I wanted to get more information on the sisters as her email had implied so I waited until she got back from the loo.

“She asked the bartender to pour us another round and he did. That’s where it all starts to go dark on me. All I know is this morning I woke up at her house in Cocoa Beach with silver bindings around one of my arms, but I could tell where she had chained me down to the bed. I honestly don’t know what happened. She must have slipped me the Solunarae blood because I cannot remember a damn thing from last night.”

“Was there anything else you can remember from the night, Khaldon?” I asked.

“So spill it, what else did she say?” Briggs looked directly at him.

“She said the Queen is planning on annihilating all rogue vampires. Completely eradicating them from stealing the human food supply. Innocent rogue vampires are slated to be eliminated if they are not of pure blood descent.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “I totally am not getting this. Are you saying this Queenie is planning on some sort of vampire apocalypse?”

“Yes, and if that is the case, then the rogues will fight back. They’ll begin to turn every human they can find to build their own armies to fight against her and the dhampirs. No matter what, the humans lose in this scenario. That’s where you and your sisters come in. I believe the Queen wants all three of you to be a part of her breeding program to create some kind of super dhampir.”

“But why? We aren’t from pure blood vampire lineages. We’re humans.”

“I’m not sure, Cheyenne. None of this makes any sense.”

The neurons in my brain scrambled. I remembered the horrific pictures of those women strapped up in the milking machines of the haunted barn. My glass of bloodwine slipped through my fingers. The crystal crashed and shattered against the marble floor. Crimson stained the linen table cloth as images of my possible future abduction and rogue vampires attacking humans flooded my brain.

“
I
think
I know where they are!” Harris stood up while swiping madly at his phone.

“What? Where? Did you find something about GC 89?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how helpful it is. The only thing she has listed under the Geo-Cache 89 is an old abandoned warehouse by a lake. It doesn’t give any reference to anything else.”

“What was the item for the geo-cache?” I asked. “Maybe that will give us an additional clue.”

“It looks like the person is supposed to take a picture of himself in front of the fishing nets on the docks and then load the photo onto the website.”

“I don’t ever remember doing anything like that. I have no idea where that is.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem. It’s under her to-do list. Looks like she hasn’t done it yet.”

“Dammit. There could be hundreds of places like that by the water. But it sounds like they aren’t too far away.” I bit my lip, frustrated.

It was getting late, and the check arrived. I reached for the check and four hands struck past mine to claim it. I looked at all of them and was so thankful to have such wonderfully weird friends. I stood up to go to the ladies’ room and only then realized how much I had to drink.

Upon my return, the guys stood up. “Hey, looks like I’m gonna be staying in Orlando a few days, so I need to grab a few things here at the market,” Harris said.

“Yeah, man. I need a few things too. Harris, you wanna come crash with me at the condo?” Briggs asked.

“Thanks. I appreciate that. I think Cheyenne and Rox could use some quiet time.” Harris winked at me.

“All right then. Torch, you wanna come with me over to the munitions department. Let’s take a look at what they have for inventory? Briggs, Harris – you guys want to meet me over there after your appointments?” Khaldon asked.

Weapons inventory? I sure wasn’t expecting to find anything like that here. Maybe an army surplus store or something. But I guess they really wouldn’t have anything to kill a vampire, now would they. Hell, I don’t even know what people use to kill them anyway. I made a mental note to ask Khaldon what type of weapons and ammo we were gonna need to rescue however many more women there might be.

I followed Harris and Briggs over to the spa area where they had a huge menu listing items for all kinds of supernatural creatures. For vampires they had teeth brightening, whitening, and filing. They even offered services for crown bridges to add additional teeth structure in your mouth.

I bet that is costly orthodontia work.

Harris decided to have the full spa treatment, clean up, dip, bath, haircut, and de-fleaing. I looked over at the tremendous array of beauty products just for werewolves. I picked up a fragrant apple de-tangler and glanced at an enzyme bloodstain remover for a werewolf’s hair. They also displayed a boat load of conditioner and all kinds of brushes, combs and shedding combs. I’d never really thought about how were-creatures would always want to look and smell their best, even if Harris was unaware of his own odor.

I walked towards a department sign that read ‘Vampyre Health and Beauty’ and was amazed at all the hygiene for the mouth. I guess it made sense, though. With drinking so much red blood, my teeth were bound to become stained. I grabbed a bottle of what looked like teeth whitening mouthwash. There were Waterpiks to remove chunks from between your teeth and at least twenty different kinds of toothpastes for every mouth malady. Who would have thought vampires would have a need for a sensitive toothpaste and one to help with bleeding gums? I never in a million years would have stopped to consider why vampires needed denture adhesive. I’d had problems choosing toothpaste when I was human, how was I going to figure it out now?

As much as I wanted to explore this amazing shopping experience, I really didn’t have time for this. I could spend days in this place, but right now I needed to get back home and figure out our next steps, before Ludovic contacted me in the morning.

* * *

W
e gathered
up my bags of groceries and books from the Super Market. The guys seemed fairly refreshed from their spa appointments, and they loaded boxes of munitions into the back of Briggs’ Land Rover.

Khaldon opened my driver side door to the roadster ushering me in. He offered me a kiss on the cheek as he shut my door, then hovered with his arms on the window. I returned the kiss and tried to give him my best “I’m fine” smile. I don’t think I was very convincing.

I had a lot to think about, and frankly I wasn’t quite sure where to start. The last thing I wanted to be was Ludovic’s puppet on a string. I needed to find a way to turn this around and start playing the game by my rules. I felt helpless sitting around waiting for him to call the shots. It was one thing to be prepared for when we uncovered their location. It was another wondering if he was just yanking my chain and had already hurt them.

“You’re awfully quiet. Everything all right?” Khaldon startled me out of my thought parade.

I seemed to get stuck in an endless line of questioning which usually brought me back to my original question. Never really solving anything just made me feel even dorkier for analyzing how I felt about it.

Khaldon stepped away from the window and walked around the front of the car.

Briggs, Harris, and Torchy drove up behind the roadster and blocked me in. “Hey, you two love birds, race you back to Chey’s place,” Briggs hollered.

Khaldon shielded his eyes from the headlights. “That’s okay – think we’re gonna have to meet you there.” And with that I revved the engine, and Briggs took the clue.

I wasn’t about to turn down a road rally and blow off the chance to release pent up steam.

I gave Khaldon a sideways grin as he got into the car. “You might want to buckle up,” I said as the tires screamed cheetah wheelies before he even had the door closed.

Khaldon looked at me with a ‘Do I really want to be in a moving vehicle with you’ kind of face. Briggs peeled out of the parking lot towards the interstate. I took the roadster through to the other side of the parking lot. Briggs might race cars, but he was on my home turf, and I navigated the orange groves in my sleep. My route might take a little longer, but I was able to go faster than the speed limits. Not that Briggs followed speed limits, mind you.

Khaldon seemed more afraid of my driving and for his life at this point, as he reached up to hold onto the ‘Oh shit!’ bar as I hurtled the car over several speed bumps.

Holding on to the steering wheel with one hand, I faked holding an intercom in my right hand and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please return your seats to their upright position, stow any carry-ons under your seat, and extinguish all smoking materials at this time. We have air!”

As we peeled past the orange juice plant where the burning rinds perfumed the air, Khaldon rested his other hand on my shoulder in an obvious sign of nervous caution. I noticed his knuckles were turning a bit whiter than normal as his hand almost broke off the bar above the window.

Driving fast always made me want to crank up the stereo. I needed something like “Highway to the Dangerzone” or “Born to Be Wild” when I raced.

Khaldon slapped my hand away from the stereo. “Umm ... could you just concentrate on the road? I’ll get the music, okay?”

The
DOVE
syndicated radio station love songs for suicidal lovers came out of the speakers. “Nope, definitely not. Gimme me speed, baby,” I said, as I gripped on to the steering at the ten and two o’clock positions. Winding through the grove’s dirt roads, I prayed there wouldn’t be a farmer out on his tractor at this time of night.

Khaldon found an adult pop-rock station, and I belted out to “Dirty Diana
”
.

“Seems to be a correlation between how loud the music is and how fast you drive.”

I took a forty-five degree turn through the field and almost plowed down a fence post.

Most likely trying to get me to slow down before he needed to change his shorts, Khaldon rubbed my neck. “Looks like you need to blow off a little steam, so how can I make this all go away for you?”

I heard the sincerity in his voice, but I wasn’t sure how to answer him. The way things had been going, I was on a collision course with death and had no idea how to get off this evil carnie ride.

“Khaldon, I think we both need some alone time. We need to sort through a few things.” I caught his nod in my peripheral vision. “But we really don’t have that kind of luxury right now. How can I even think about being happy and making love with you while my family could be getting tortured this very minute? For all I know, they could already be dead.”

I downshifted into third as Khaldon broke off one side of the ‘Oh shit’ bar and squeezed my leg with his other hand. I veered left, barely missing the road closed sign. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted him to agree with me. I revved back up to speed and headed out on an old gravel road. The roadster shifted in 4th and up into 5th as we flew past the orange trees. I thought about his words. Maybe he was right. Maybe I did need to blow off a little steam. How long had it been since I’d had a good bronco buckin’ in the haystack?

Don’t answer that!

I decided I didn’t want to think how long it had been since getting laid and broke into another chorus of, “Dirty Diana..na ..na.”

With a note of resignation in his voice he said, “You’re right, Cheyenne. We have plenty of time to figure us out. We need to concentrate on finding your family.”

We were right, and that was exactly what I wanted to hear, but the last thing I needed was for him was to be thinking about Amicula and her little stunts.

If he can’t remember what happened last night, what else did she do with him? Is he telling me everything?

He was a man, and dammit if he didn’t have needs too. Was I truly that stupid? Was I really giving him the brush-off?

I’m so confused.

“Feck it!” I decided it was time to lose the race. My right foot let off the accelerator.

I grinned at him. “Do you wanna blow off some steam, or do you want me to win the race?”

He looked at me for a moment and then planted a slow, sweet kiss on my cheek. That was all the answer I needed.

The door handle above the window completely broke off in his hand with a clang, accompanied by a sheepish, questioning grimace. “I guess I’ll need to get that fixed.”

I smiled, relaxing my face. I loved this man. What the hell was I waiting for? Instantly, color flooded back into his face and his grip on my leg relaxed. I slammed on the brakes, shifted down into second, and pulled the car off into the orange grove where there was an opening in the fence line. I drove about a half mile in between the trees and shut down the engine. I was ready.

I grabbed a blanket out from behind the seat and met his gaze. Without another word, Khaldon jumped out of the car and in a flash, had me out of the car and in his arms.

He kissed me with quiet whispers. His mouth still tasted of the cinnamon tangy bloodwine we had drunk at dinner. I reached my arms up around his shoulders and felt for the steely frame under his silken skin. Never in all my dreams had I envisioned him this vivid, this complete. I nestled my head into his shoulder as he kissed me deeply and thoroughly. This time there was no holding back, no niggling of guilty feelings. Here was the man of my dreams who had been in my dreams for so long, literally. His hair was soft as it tangled in my fingertips. He had hair I could kill for. Long, black, thick. I couldn’t wait to see it falling around his shoulders.

Our song came on the radio as if by magic.
“In Your Eyes”
by Peter Gabriel. I had visions of an actor holding up his boom box serenading me outside my bedroom window. But instead Khaldon began to dance us in the headlights. It was wonderful to get lost in his breath, to get lost in his kisses, to simply just get lost hoping he would find me.