Vampire Thirst (24 page)

“Different?” Tardieh cocked his head sideways, probably thinking exactly the same thing.

“Yes, my lord.” Hikuro cleared his throat. “After our…err…mating, I was able to see the sun and not be harmed by it.”

Silence.

Zoricah blinked a couple of times. Then blinked again. “What did you say?”

Completely flabbergasted, she heard Hikuro’s tale about how, after having fallen asleep in the garden, he had awakened with the sun on his face and had spent the whole day marveling at its wonders, unharmed. Tardieh prompted, poked, asked a million questions, until he finally went silent.

Holy. Apa. Dobrý.

Zoricah shook her head and tried to make some sense out of the unbelievable story. “So, according to Phillip, Sam is the key to uncovering Yerik’s operations in Europe,” she said, pacing back and forth. “Dr. Burvis is the psychiatrist who was in charge of the mental institution Sam was admitted to back in the 1940s, and the razbians Hikuro followed took the equipment out of Sam’s old orphanage to Dr. Burvis’ facility in Broxbourne. Is that correct?”

“I believe so,” Tardieh replied.

Her deliberation was interrupted by Zoricah’s cell.

“How’s Sam, Yara?” Zoricah asked after hitting the speaker button.

“I have no fucking clue.”

“What?”

“She’s not here,” her friend growled on the other end of the line.

Hikuro jumped forward and grabbed the phone from Zoricah’s hand. “Have you checked her bedroom?”

“No, blood sucker, I looked on the fucking roof. Where do you think I am right now?” Yara retorted. “There’s a note here, but I have no fucking idea what it means.”

“What does it say?” Hikuro snarled back.

“‘I’m sorry, but I have to do this on my own. Love, Sam.’”

In all the weeks they had been working together, Zoricah had never seen Hikuro show any emotion. His face was like a beautiful marble sculpture. Until now. His jaw clenched, his hands clasped into fists, his eyes flashed red. “She went after him.”

That was the only thing he growled before running out the door.

“Fuck!” Tardieh cursed and darted after him.

“We’re on our way,” Zoricah said, then hung up the phone, picked up her jacket and boots, and dashed after the vampires. She never thought she’d miss the days when
she
was the impulsive one in that weird group of theirs.

Part 3

“Will you die for me?”

Chapter 1

Hikuro materialized by a tree in the park in front of Dr. Burvis’ facility. He hunkered down and waited in the shadows. The sun was low in the sky. It would still be a good hour before darkness engulfed the land. He had to act fast. The razbians would never be expecting a vampire attack in broad daylight. He wouldn’t have either, but the effects of Sam’s powers on him were still riding strong. He had been out and about for the whole day long, and the rays of sun didn’t even give him a suntan. Incredible. He’d have to test it further, maybe even try a few other theories, but that would have to wait for later. Right now he needed to get into the lion’s den and get Sam out before she got into trouble, or worse, harmed. His gut churned with the thought of losing her. By Apa Dobrý, why had she gone off, trying to save the world by herself? That silly woman! He’d never get used to her impulsiveness.

Hikuro took a long, deep breath. The Soartas had certainly played him good. After centuries of perfecting his self-control and taming his short temper, they’d put Sam on his path and all those years of hard work were out the window in a day. He had never gotten smitten by anyone before in his life. He’d had a few lovers and even a wife for a short period of time, but it had never been like this – like being on the edge of a precipice and wanting to jump head first.

Hikuro closed his eyes and focused. Nothing. He couldn’t sense her. After feeding, a vampire could sense the presence of his blood source. But with Sam, he couldn’t even get a glimpse of the general area where she might be in the complex. Very frustrating.

It seemed Dr. Burvis wasn’t expecting visitors because the compound entrance was barely guarded. One razbian covered the main gate and two others were on the roof. That was it. Hikuro could distinguish some movements inside the main building, but nothing alarming.

Time to act. He focused on the far western end of the flat concrete roof and dematerialized. Seconds later, he appeared just outside the fire exit. The guard covering that area was fighting with the wind in an attempt to light his cigarette. He didn’t even turn around. Sucker.

Hikuro opened the exit door and went inside without making a noise. After descending the long stairway, he came across another door with too many security cameras around it to pass unnoticed. He dismantled them and unlocked it in less than three seconds, then crouched low and waited. No alarms went off. Slowly, he turned the knob and opened the heavy metal door. A vast anteroom lay before him.

He crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him. There were three exits across the room. He drew his gun out and slowly made his way inside. The walls were of plain steel, with just ventilation exits along the way. No cameras in sight. Strange. Something tugged at his gut. This was too easy. He picked up his pace. When he was about to reach the first door he heard a light click, as if he had stepped on a landmine. He lifted his foot and saw a small device underneath it. Shit. He
had
stepped on a landmine. Several small hatches along the walls opened up and dark blue visors came out.
What the fuck?
He was expecting guns or even flame throwers, not little screens. A slight wheezing sound caught his attention. He shifted his stance and pointed his gun in the direction of the strange noise. Four beams of white light crisscrossed the back door, followed by four more in front, then four more closer still. He’d seen those white lasers before. Sam had extinguished the candle with them at his ryokan not even two days ago. Fuck.

Hikuro darted to the door, but it was too late. Several lasers made of pure electricity hit him hard. It felt like a million silver needles piercing through him. He tried to take another step. If only he could reach the door, he might have the strength to cross it.

Not a chance.

His limbs convulsed wildly with the force of the thousands of watts coursing through him. His muscles contracted and seized with the rippling electric rush.

Hikuro fell heavily on the floor, shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly, the lasers stopped and the small visors retracted. Several pairs of shoes came into view. One in particular called his attention.

“Well, well. Look what got caught in the net, boys.”

Son of a bitch. Hikuro would recognize that squeaky voice anywhere in the world.

Phillip’s white snakeskin shoes connected with Hikuro’s stomach, making him turn on his back.

“I hope you’re feeling lucky today, blood sucker.”

Chapter 2

The sun had finally set.

Zoricah was anxious to get back to London and find out what in Hiad was going on. Yara didn’t know where Sam was, and Hikuro had darted out in broad daylight and dematerialized before Tardieh could get to him. Zoricah had been ready to leave Malaga but it was summertime, which meant long – really long – days in Europe. The sun only set around 8:30 in the bloody evening, so they all had to sit around at his Spanish mansion and wait.

Tardieh teleported her to a rooftop in South Hackney. Dyam and Joel were right behind them. The vast Victoria Park ahead was packed with humans enjoying the warm evening. Nights like these were rare in London.

Zoricah walked to the ledge. “Sam’s rehab facility is just around the corner,” she announced, then jumped off.

Her long, golden wings allowed for a smooth landing in the middle of an empty street. A second later, the three vampires appeared in front of her.

“Let’s go.”

Zoricah led the way. She wanted to burst into the Georgian manor, but instead she stopped by the short stairway and rang the bell – like a law-abiding citizen.

Moments later, a plump woman with grey hair opened the front door.

“May I help you?”

“It’s for me!” Zoricah heard Yara shout out, just before she shoved the old lady out of the way. “By Apa Dobrý, what took you so long?”

Zoricah just lifted an eyebrow at her. Yara rolled her eyes and held the door for them to go in.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wilkinson. These are our friends, Sam’s friends.”

The old lady didn’t like what she was hearing, but like any good Englishwoman, she got the hint and minded her own business.

“Has Sam made contact?” Zoricah asked as they walked down the corridor and into a large foyer. The green grass of the common could be seen through the tall sash windows.

“No,” Yara replied through clenched teeth.

Zoricah exhaled sharply. Damn it, she was hoping Hikuro would have been back with Sam by now. “We have to get there before it’s too late,” she told Tardieh, then marched to the door.

“Go where?” Yara asked.

“Broxbourne.”

“Wait,” Tardieh’s dark voice reverberated in the room.

Zoricah turned around and lifted a brow at him.
Here we go again.
Tardieh had the bad habit of trying to stop her whenever things got too fishy.

“We need a plan.”

Oh.

“By the sound of things, this Dr. Burvis has many resources,” Tardieh explained.

“We need to be ready for war,” Dyam agreed.

“Worst case scenario, he’s got Hikuro and Sam and is just waiting for us to show up,” Joel added.

They had a point. “Follow me,” Zoricah said. “Sam used to have a few weapons in the basement.”

Sam’s storage room turned out to be a fighter’s heaven. After half an hour, they had a dozen grenades, several semi-automatic guns and plenty of ammunition. Yara convinced Mrs. Wilkinson to lend them the institution’s Land Rover. Trained vampires, like Tardieh, Dyam and Joel, could teleport extra stuff or people with them, but neither of them had ever been to Broxbourne. The only reason they managed to materialize near Sam’s rehab centre was that they had worked in this area before. So there was only option left. They all had to fit into the old 4X4. Tardieh climbed behind the steering wheel, Zoricah on the front seat, and Yara squeezed between Dyam and Joel in the back.

“Pathetic,” Joel mumbled, voicing out how they all felt. It had been quite some time since Zoricah had the need to drive to her mission.

The electronic gate roared to life and slowly made its way up.

When Tardieh drove the car out and was about to hit the road, Yara reached over Dyam and sniffed the air outside the open window. “Wait!”

“What’s wrong?” Tardieh asked.

Yara ignored the question, and Dyam’s protests, and stepped out.

Zoricah followed her. “What do you smell?”

“I don’t know,” Yara replied. “Something that’s not supposed to be here.”

“What do you mean?”

Yara frowned. “I could swear I got a whiff of a wolf.”

They both looked across the street, toward the dark park. No dogs, no birds, and definitely no wolf.

“Maybe it was just my imagination,” Yara said. “Let’s go get Sam.”

Zoricah nodded and climbed back in the car. She just hoped they were not too late already.

*****

It had been a very long time since Rafe had gotten caught out. As soon as the witch stepped out of the car, he knew she had sensed him in the shadows. How it was possible, he had no idea, but he didn’t want to risk it, so he turned back into his human form before she spotted his furry ass.

After stealing Yara’s credit card details at the private sex club, it had been a piece of cake to find where she and her friends were hiding. Hacking into the card company’s database wasn’t too difficult – Rafe had done that several times before. But it had taken a few hours to find a clue that would lead him to their location. He noted that in the last few days, Yara had used her card several times in an Off License in South Hackney. Those facilities sold more than just alcohol, so that meant she was staying around there too.

He’d roamed the streets for a whole day before he saw a tall, stunning woman with olive skin cross the park and get into a phone booth. He heard her talk about someone not being there, then the confirmation came in the form of one word. She said ‘Tardieh’. Bingo. Rafe knew instantly he had found them. But it seemed that her leader and the vampire king weren’t in the UK. So Rafe waited. After the sun had set, he saw all three vampires and the demigoddess cross the street to the house. Just as Rafe was about the break into the manor and finish his mission, the garage door opened and a Land Rover came out with all of them inside. That had puzzled him. Why were vampires taking a car?

Well, it didn’t really matter. If he wanted to pay his dues with Balaur, he’d go wherever the vampire king was going. He was tired of this cat-and-mouse game. Tonight he’d finish the job once and for all.

Chapter 3

Sam shifted inside her tiny hiding place. Her arms were getting numb.

Earlier in the day, she had sneaked into the compound without being seen and had been hiding in the narrow ventilation conduit ever since. She had learnt that there were five sections to the facility. This one was where Dr. Burvis conducted his experiments. There were several stainless steel cupboards along the white walls and two desks with the latest computers, tech devices, screens, scanners, the lot. One of those weird dentist chairs and three glass containers, like those they had seen in the truck the night before, stood at the far end of the room. Each held a person inside. They were awake, but their eyes showed no signs of life. A horrible feeling of déjà vu hit her right in the gut. She’d been in one of these rooms before. A long time ago.

Sam’s mind went into overdrive. It was like the dam had been cracked open, letting all the horrible memories of her childhood come rushing out. She had been here before. She had been in a chair like that before. Several times. Not only when she was under Dr. Burvis’ care at the mental asylum, but also when she was a little girl. Her nickname had been Angel back then, because of her blond hair and angelic features. When she was twelve or so, at the orphanage in Seven Sisters, Sam had started having awful nightmares. She knew something was off; she was changing. She had become more aggressive, short fused.