The Blood Order (Fanghunters Book Two) (10 page)

Trixie laughed. "He'll break every bone in your body."

Dom gave her a sideways look. "Puh-lease. The guy's four feet nothing. If I can't get
him
on the ground, then I may as well give in."

Trixie sighed. "Be my guest." She glanced at Rufus. "Go easy on him."

Rufus nodded.

"
Although I know it's tempting not to,
" Trixie added under her breath.

Rufus faced up to Dom. He bowed at his opponent before he put his hands up martial arts style to protect his face, a steely look etched into his youthful features.

Dom put up his dukes, street brawler style.
Hey, if you lose to the chick and this midget then there's no chance for you,
he told himself.

He laughed to himself in a nonchalant manner.
There's no way this dude can take me.

There's no--

Without warning, Rufus lunged, catching Dom off guard. In the next instant, Rufus was in his face, unleashing a barrage of karate chops and slices like he was trying to fell a tree. Dom's eyes bulged in a panic. He put his dukes up, hoping to protect his face. In doing so, he took his eyes off his diminutive opponent. Rufus took the initiative. He bent his knees and extended a leg. He swung it around in a fierce circle. Dom felt a smash in his calves. The blow swept him off his feet. He became airborne, his arms flailing. His mind had enough time to think 'oh crap', before his back smashed into the mat, winding him. He lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in agony.

Trixie laughed and clapped her hands. "Wow. You lasted all of two seconds," she stated, staring down at Dom, who was still seeing stars.

Rufus rushed over and offered him a hand. Dom took it and gingerly got to his feet. Rufus began rubbing Dom's back and chest, a look of concern on his face.

Dom winced, grabbing his side. "Two's better than none," he said. He showed Rufus his palm, indicating he was okay. Rufus stopped rubbing and stepped back. He began making hand gestures while staring at Dom.

Dom looked at Trixie. "What did he say?"

"He said 'you suck!'"

Rufus gave her a look of thunder, wagging a strong finger across the air.

Trixie got the message. "Okay. He said 'sorry'," she corrected herself with a shrug.

This time
,
Rufus nodded emphatically before giving Dom a sympathetic grin.

Dom waved his hand on the air. "It's all right, buddy. I was just warming up anyways."

"Yeah, right," Trixie countered. "Oh, you mean warming up the mat?"

Dom sent her an ironic grin. "
Ha ha!
"

Trixie giggled, her tongue caught between her teeth.

Dom then straightened his back. "Okay, let's try that again." They retook their positions. Dom geared himself up, this time concentrating on Rufus' hands.

Keep your eye on him, Dom
,
he told himself.
He's a sneaky one. Hits when you least expect.

Rufus faced off and then began waving his hands left and right. They danced and flew on the air like elegant birds. Dom found himself mesmerized, unable to keep a lock on either hand. In the meantime, Rufus was advancing. Before Dom knew it, Rufus was on him. He hooked an arm under Dom's armpit and spun away, bending his knees.

Dom's feet left the mat. "Woah!" was all he could manage before Rufus used his momentum to Judo throw him forward over his shoulder. Dom smashed into the mat with a grunt.

Trixie clapped and laughed.

Dom wheezed his way up to his knees. Rufus gave him no respite. He was on him like a runaway train. Dom gasped, showing him his palms, but it was no use. Rufus went to work. He smashed Dom down on his back. Then on his front. On his side. Upside down, around the globe, over and over. And then back again.

The world turned into an insane amusement park ride, complete with bumps and lumps; every time he made it to his feet, over Rufus' shoulder he went. After the last smash, everything became calm.

Dom's head stirred, his bleary eyes zoned in on the white ceiling.

Come on
.
Get up and fight!
he urged himself.

He got to his feet and tried again. Rufus effortlessly threw him over his shoulder. Dom hit the mat with a crack.

Trixie sucked air in through her teeth. "Ooh, nasty," she said.

Dom lay where he was, an exhausted heap. "Man, I'm gonna feel this in the morning," he groaned.

Rufus went over and helped him back to his feet again. The bones in Dom's neck cracked. "Okay, okay, I give in," he declared. "I'm the weakest of the three. You two have royally kicked my ass."

Rufus began hand signaling. Dom glanced at Trixie.

"He says to practice," she told him.

Dom snapped his head around to meet him. "With you? No way!" The bones in his back then cracked. "Wow, that hurt."

"Of course," Trixie said with a nod. "Rufus is a black belt. You're a street punk."

"Hey, I'm not from the street. I used to have a family."

Rufus pointed down at the ground and began gesturing.

Dom looked at Trixie and raised his eyebrows.

Trixie's face turned serious. "He said 'this is your family now'," she told him.

A shiver raced up Dom's spine. For a split second, he was back in the basement with the Father and that other fanghead.
'This is your family now,'
the Father said before he cruelly tore up Dom's only memento of his real family.

Dom met Rufus' warm stare. "No family I know of beat each other up," he quipped with a wry smile.

Rufus let out a voiceless laugh.

"Don't worry, you'll be tougher for it," Trixie stated.

Dom puffed his cheeks. "Let's hope so." He rubbed his head.
Man, I'm nothing compared to these two.

"I think we better call it a day," Trixie then decided. "We don't wanna kill you so early."

Dom gave her a peeved look. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

Trixie grinned before heading for the exit.

Dom shook his head.
Man, I look a real chump.

Oh well, nothing new there then,
he realized.

He got to his feet and raced over to the pull-up bar. "Hey, Trixie, check this out!" he shouted.

Trixie stopped and turned to face him, hand on hip.

Dom leaped up to the bar and began pumping out pull-ups.

Trixie watched him wheezing for a few seconds while he managed a whole two before she turned away. "You try too hard."

Dom groaned under the strain as his strength left him. He stopped and hung off the bar like a monkey at the zoo. He managed a grin. "At least I do try."

He couldn't hold any longer; he slipped off the bar and landed hard on the wooden floor.

"Catch you later, Roo," Trixie said as she strode by him.

Rufus waved her off.

Dom darted over to Rufus. "Hey Roo, what's the story with Trixie?"

Rufus shrugged.

"Come on, man. Spill the beans. She got a boyfriend?"

Rufus shrugged.

"You're impossible, dude, you know that?" Dom groaned. "She is kinda hot
,
though, huh?"

They both turned to see her walk out of the gym, that spandex hugging her perfect butt tight. "Don't you two be long," she said without breaking stride. "We got a job on in the morning." In the next instant, she was gone.

Dom sighed. "But as cold as ice."

Dom caught Rufus' stare; he nodded, then gave him a shrug that said, 'what can you do?'.

D
om decided he'd been beaten up enough for one day and left the gym to go take a shower. On his way back to the mansion, he spotted Vincent laid out on a lounger. He was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and white tee. Dom smiled to himself; the old guy looked like he was about to go on safari. His nose was stuck in a thick, heavy book that was bigger than his head.

Dom strolled up to him. "Catching some rays, Vincent?" he asked, glancing up at the sky to be met with gray clouds.

Vincent lowered his book and peeked at Dom over the top of it. His eyes were obscured by glasses with the thickest lenses Dom had ever seen. "Ah, Dominic. How's the training going?"

Dom winced as he rubbed the small of his back. "Great," he said with a fake grin.

"Splendid," Vincent retorted, genuine joy pasted all over his face.

Dom locked eyes on Vincent's book. "What are you reading?"

Vincent held the book up high so Dom could see the cover.

Dom read the words 'Holy Bible' embossed on the front. "I didn't take you for a religious man."

Vincent removed his glasses. "Believe it or not, there's a lot of truth in this tome. It just has to be put into context." He closed up the Bible and laid it down on his belly. "Take a seat."

Dom pulled up a nearby garden chair and sat down, his bumps and bruises moaning at him. He winced.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked, detecting his discomfort.

"Yeah, you should see the state of those two! You wouldn't recognize them."

"I'm sure." Vincent then reached down and picked up a glass of mineral water from next his lounger. He took a sip. "Now," he said, placing the glass back down, "tell me what happened at the discotheque."

"The discotheque? Geez, Vincent, when was the last time you went clubbing?"

"Well, it's been a while, I have to admit."

"We call them clubs now. This one, in particular, was called Club Venom."

"Ah, very topical."

"Quite."

"So, tell me what happened there."

"Well, I almost got killed by Order vamps."

Vincent scratched his head. "Why were you there?"

Dom let out a long breath. "I was hoping to find some clues as to how I got in this mess in the first place."

"But why Club Venom specifically?"

"I had this card, in my wallet. A member card to that club. I couldn't remember ever going there, so I went to check it out, hoping it would jog my memory."

"And did it?"

"Kinda. I got this sense of déjà vu. They seemed to know me in there as well."

Vincent's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. One of the bouncers recognized me."

"But
you
didn't recognize
him
?"

Dom shook his head. "Uh-uh."

Vincent leaned back in his seat. "Curious. Why would you be known by the Order?"

"Beats me."

"You have no idea?"

"None."

Vincent interlocked his fingers over his chest. He stared at Dom like a detective sweating down a crook. To Dom, it was like he wanted to get to the bottom of things more than he did. "So what happened after that?" Vincent then asked.

"That bouncer took me up to the VIP booths where I was getting all kinds of venom tingles from."

"Go on," urged Vincent.

"So, I'm thinking 'hey, I might get some answers from up there', so I follow him. He said Sammy was looking for me."

"Sammy?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

Vincent nodded. "Could be Sammy the Saint. Leviah's closest henchman."

"Why is he called the saint?"

"Because he is a devil."

"That makes sense."

"Continue," said Vincent.

Dom ran his hand through his hair. "So I get up to the booths and my spine is tingling like crazy. The bouncer opens up a door and it's full of vamps and girls. I'd say around four or five vamps and the same number of girls. One of the vamps was Sammy."

"And he recognized you?"

"Yeah."

Vincent nodded. "Interesting."

"He was angry with me about something, but more specifically angry at Eddie."