Exsanguinate (29 page)

F
REE
!

Dakota huddled behind a ventilator turbine on the massive roof of the breeding facility. She looked at her arms – they had become appendages for wings. Her hands were now claws with talons. Her wing span extended another four feet out beyond her hands. Her brain marveled at the mesh-like appendages where her arms used to be. She couldn’t quite grasp where she’d been, or what she’d been doing. She knew she desperately needed to do something, but she couldn’t remember what it was. As if thoughts and memories belonged in a different dimension with a different Dakota.

A part of her mind wondered what’d happened to her, to turn her into such a strange and marvelous creature. This new form gave her a sense of empowerment and knowledge she had never known before. One thing she knew was certain, she had a starving thirst. Nothing, not even daylight, could keep her away from satiation.

The moon was heavy into her wax and the night was young. She heard Ludovic scream out her name from the front of the building. As quiet as a bat, she flew into the inky blackness of the night away from that man. Dakota flew to where she knew she could get food.

* * *

I
nterlude

It was the perfect evening for Andrea. Finally, Tony had proposed after two long years of dating. The fettuccine Alfredo, his favorite meal, cooked al dente. The wine was a perfect pairing with the tiramisu. Tony got down on his knees in the middle of his parent’s restaurant and popped the question.

Promising to remember the moment forever, Andrea blushed as she squealed in delight her answer. She jumped into his arms and the entire family and restaurant stopped what they were doing, stood up and applauded the newly engaged couple. Andrea couldn’t have been more excited to come into the Renaldi family. Who would have ever known her life would change so wonderfully when she became a waitress at the restaurant? Tony would be a good provider, a great dad, and forever her friend. She knew now she never had to be afraid of anything hurting her again. She could complete her schooling in dental hygiene, and then they could start a family.

After their meal Tony took Andrea to a romantic ride on the swan boat out on Lake Lola. She basked in the moonlight as Tony paddled them farther out into the lake.

With a thud, Dakota landed on the back of the swan boat. She drove her steely talons through Andrea’s skull. In the same movement, Dakota ripped off Tony’s head and turned his body upside down to drain him of all his blood. In less than five minutes, Dakota had exsanguinated both of their bodies and had thrown them into the lake along with all their hopes and dreams.

* * *

I
nterlude

“I don’t think we should be out here – it feels too open, Aiden,” Callie said as she squeezed his leg.

“Don’t worry about it – she’s at work. She never comes out here anyway. I told her I was out with the guys at City Streets. She’ll never know. This is what you wanted right?” Aiden slid his hand under Callie’s shirt and snapped open the front of her bra.

Callie looked around and didn’t see any other swan boats in sight. They were way out in the middle of the lake. “I love how you talk dirty to me, Aiden, don’t stop.” She slid her hand up his leg and grabbed his excitement.

A gentle breeze blew by and Callie saw little ripples in the water.

Aiden had her skirt pulled up and her panties wrapped around his fingers.

“Oh Aiden… don’t stop. Tell me what a dirty slut I am!” she whispered.

He stood her up in front of him and pushed her head down. “Suck me, you dirty whore, or I won’t pay you what you’re worth. You’ll have to fuck that greasy slime ball of a landlord again to pay your rent.”

“Yes! Yes!” Callie exclaimed before greedily taking him into her mouth. He stood at full attention as he shoved her waiting mouth onto him.

He rocked her head back and forth as she swallowed him whole time and time again. “Damn, bitch, wish my ole lady fucked me as good as you.”

Dakota speared Aiden in the back while landing on the rear of the boat with the faintest of movement. She held Aiden up in her talons as she watched Callie enjoy her dicksicle. Dakota greedily sucked the lifeblood from his neck while Callie slurped his future generations.

The warm, salty goodness flooded Callie’s mouth. It wasn’t until the wetness continued running down his body that she realized something was off. She opened her eyes and saw glowing, fiery globes for eyes where Aiden’s head should have been.

“What’s the matter, slut? Don’t you want to fuck me no more?” came a demonic voice. Dakota shoved Aiden’s head in front of Callie’s face. Callie screamed. Dakota threw the head into the water and laughed while grabbing the home wrecker with her claws. She yanked the screaming slut to her mouth. “This’ll teach you to break up marriages!” Dakota tore out her throat to stop the incessant screaming and drained Callie’s body cavity with a few strong pulls.

* * *

D
akota sat
on the edge of the bloody swan boat and thought about where she was and what she was doing. She thought how Ludovic turned her into this thing, this monster, this powerfully fantastic creature.

There were five more boats out on the water that night and Dakota killed every last passenger in them including a young family with children. She didn’t care. They were all there for her taking. Humans were her food – like cattle. No remorse – no worries. Just her sustenance.

Her enlightenment provided understanding – humans were not the superior race on this planet. She was the apex predator.

Nothing could stop her. She was free, she felt power surging through her like never before, and with a full belly she was ready for sleep. But where? She sat on the edge of the boat for hours, drifting on the lake contemplating what to do and where to go. She could feel the sun coming up over the horizon and instinctively she knew she needed rest and protection.

She flew to the highest building with an open vent shaft and crawled in for the day. Little did she know she would have to fight a gargoyle for the same space.

F
or a Friday at noon
, Club Mordez Moi was packed. The place was alive and on fire. My nerves itched with electricity. The music was loud, but soothing. The steady boom, boom, boom, actually helped to quiet the anxiety roiling inside my guts.

The bartender brought me the day’s special – a Bloodied Zombie. It was a mixture of white chocolate liqueur, O negative, and distilled raspberries. I waited for zombie eyeballs to float up to the top of the glass, but none did. Maybe that effect was reserved for the Frog’s Eye punch the club was famous for.

Khaldon, Briggs, Torchy, and Harris sat at the table behind me, playing poker. They looked innocent enough and did not pay me any attention.

As soon as I saw Ludovic’s reflection appear in the mirror behind the bar, I became unsettled. My breath hitched in my chest as instant fury blazed through me.

The place was packed, hardly a seat available. I guess he considered it safe because he casually walked up and held onto the back of the stool where I had my purse. I grabbed it as he kneeled on the stool. Turning in my chair, I glared at the ass hat who’d ruined my world, tortured my sisters, and kidnapped my father, I needed every ounce of strength not to rip out his vocal cords through his nostrils.

I hate this guy!

Dakota’s perfume lingered on him mixed with a pungent cleaning solvent. I remembered when Dakota brought him over to the house, he always smelled of spearmint. I figured he had chronic rancid breath, but now I knew he was masking the stench of death.

“A muddy squab with a mouse chaser.” The bartender nodded. Ludovic looked at me and around us.

I followed his eyes.

“You alone?” Ludovic turned the back of the seat around and straddled it all macho, western style.

“Umm … no. There are about 250 freaks in this joint. What kind of drink is that?”

“Pigeon blood power drink with chaser shot of Disney cast member.” Ludovic eyed me and looked around us again.

“They keep Disney’s employees on tap for just such an occasion then?”

Ludovic laughed at me. Raucous laughter burst out at the table behind us, but the guys made it seem as though Torchy had won the poker hand. Ludovic ignored them.

“So what’s the deal? Why the change of heart?” Heated, acrid fumes flowed color up my neck. I took in a deep breath and consciously tried to relax. Playing it calm, I decided on a different approach. “Boy, it’s hot in here. This drink is really getting to me.” Fanning myself with my napkin, I wanted Ludovic to think I was weak, easy for him to take. To bait him into feeling in control. I opened another button on my blouse.

“We have a slight bit of a problem.”

“And you needed me to acknowledge that?”

He pursed his lips and squinted at me.

“What I need to know is where you have taken my father.”

“He’s safe. Safer than Dakota was, I fear. But if you keep wasting our time … “

I held up my hands in mock defeat. “Continue.”

“Seems the Queen’s plan wasn’t working out as she anticipated, so she’s decided to conduct her experiments on Dakota and Sheridan instead.”

They’ve killed her.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t dead, or at least I know Sheridan isn’t,” he said.

I squirmed in my seat, uncomfortable with how casual he referred to my sister’s well-being, or lack thereof. “Go on.” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Queen Civetateo ordered Edric to inject Dakota with the lunar, Solunarae blood to see if she could handle it. If the lunar blood proved to be compatible with her, then her dhampir children would become stronger than the ones born from a regular human.”

I furrowed my brows at him.

Ludovic swished back and forth on the seat. “The human test subjects before Dakota were dying off like flies in a hurricane.”

I gasped at the intake of breath behind me. Nerves caught the best of me. I rocked my foot up and down on the stool foothold. I prayed Ludovic wasn’t paying attention to anything but his drink and my cleavage.

While continuing to fan myself, I turned forward a little more to face him. “I’m not quite sure what this Solunarae blood stuff means. Can you spell it out for me?”

“Well, you and your sister’s lineage has a throwback gene. Instead of Dakota turning into a vampire when I changed her, the lunar fugue blood sort of had an opposite effect.” Ludovic ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Dakota has now become a blood demon, instead of just a vampire.”

I heard a glass crash to the ground.

“A what?” Desperate to hold back the ferocity inside me, I took another long swig of my drink and then slammed it down on the bar.

“Bartender! ‘Nother round.” Briggs barked out, scaring the shite out of me. They couldn’t be taking this news any better than I was.

Clueless to the energy shift around him, Ludovic continued unfazed. “A blood demon. Basically, picture a Hollywood vampire that looks like an ugly rat, has wings, taloned claws, and an insatiable blood lust. No conscience. No remorse. They hate everything. They think a human’s only purpose is to provide for them.”

I stared at him while my hands itched to claw out his eyes. “Are you saying this is what Dakota has become? A blood demon with wings and talons? What do you mean by our lineage?” I finger quoted in the air.

“The Priestess has been searching the world over for the purest of bloodlines which trace back to vampiric ancestral roots. Both your parents are carriers. So, yeah, I’m afraid this is exactly what I meant.”

“Ludovic, that’s insane. We aren’t vampires. We are human. My mother died eight years ago. If she were a vampire, then she would still be alive.”

“That’s not the issue at hand. Right now I need help in capturing Dakota. She has escaped. I’m thankful she’s alive, but something backfired when I gave her the vampiric DNA and how it mixed with the lunar blood. She flew out the glass ceiling of the facility. I have no idea if she’s injured or if I can even get her back.”

“And, just how are we supposed to catch her if she can fly?”

He held his drink in both hands and wiped the sweat of the glass with his thumbs. He refused to look at me. “The real problem is, how she won’t care if she kills, or attacks anyone.” He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “Did you hear about the massacre on the swan boats last night?”

I nodded and stole a glance in the mirror. The guys had become intensely quiet.

“I’m pretty sure that was her. Without the lunar Solunarae blood, she’s starving. Regular blood won’t satiate her nutritional needs.”

I took another drink and recalled the article about the massacre. “And you’re sure this blood demon business is Dakota and not somebody else?”

Ludovic turned to face me again. “Listen, you aren’t going to buy a word I say, but the truth is, I love your sister. That’s why I turned her in order to save her life. Edric kept forcing the lunar blood on her in larger dosages. He was going to kill her if I didn’t intervene.” His eyes were sincere, almost to the point of tears. “I … I couldn’t stand to lose her.”

“Touching, Ludovic. Not buying it for a minute. But here’s the deal, ass wipe. You take me to get Sheridan and my father now, and I’ll help you catch Dakota before we kill you. That way you know she’s safe, Romeo. Or maybe we’ll feed you to her.”

Ludovic looked at the quad surrounding him.

“No tricks or these guys will eat you. Got it?”

Ludovic looked at Harris. Werewolf poured off him. Khaldon’s fangs dripped with bloody saliva. Torchy’s eyes glowed orange as Brigg’s fiery breath leaked steam from his throat. He was on fire.

“You … you said you were alone,” Ludovic whined.

“No, I didn’t. I told you I was here with 250 other freaks. Now let’s go!”