Chapter 5

She fought to breathe and watched Axel move away, Charlie’s grip on her arm the only thing keeping her on her feet. Being close to him felt right, but the little voice in her head crying out ‘Get away!’ confused her. Her skin heated with his every touch, yet something was wrong. The weakness, the sting of so many small cuts and the tearing sensation around gapping wounds and fractured bone. As she dropped her gaze, she let out a pathetic little sob, the sight of the blood plastering her shirt to her skin making her light headed and hurt so much more.

Arm around her waist, hand curved behind her neck, Charlie pulled her against him. “I’ll make it quick. This will help with the pain.”

Her head fell back and he lowered his mouth to her throat. A light press and the sharp edge of his fangs cut her skin. Saliva seeped into the wound, burning around and inside like an injection of acid. She whimpered and stiffened. Charlie shifted and bit down deeper.

Body growing numb, pain receded and the slight pull became pleasant. Her fingers found their way into his hair and the texture seemed to flow from her calloused fingertips to fill her hands, drape around her arms and finally cover every inch of her flesh. In some part of her mind she knew his hair hadn’t changed, but every nerve carried the sensation of it, as though keyed to focus on the luscious feeling from without than the life being drained from within.

In the distance, a faint scuffing sound pulled her lazily from the soothing pleasure. She spotted a little head, peeking out of an alley. Cold washed over her, waking her fully. She mouthed the word ‘Run’. Charlie’s mouth left her neck as he followed her gaze.

His attention shifting to her little brother brought memories to play; mother bent over daddy’s ravaged body, a hushed sound in the backyard, soft footsteps on the thick grass that framed the in-ground pool. She could still see the water, clean and clear, glowing from the aqua lamps that shifted colors from tranquil blues to serene greens. The approaching figures showed in the reflection of the water, but nowhere else. Still, they could feel the predators closing in. Mother had screamed, ‘Get Toby! Keep him safe!’ and stifling sobs with her hands, Helena had run to the nursery and taken Toby from his crib. He was too heavy to carry and too small to keep up and She almost abandoned him twice on the way to the neighbor’s house. The names she’d called the frightened two year old in an attempt to get him to move faster still disgusted her, but she’d gotten him to safety. The neighbors had met them on their lawn and rushed them into the house, the wife calling the cops, the husband manning the barricaded door with his gun.

The cops came, brought her and Toby to the hospital, and after hours of questions, left her to the doctors. Who left her alone to rest.

She’d considered sneaking out of her room to find her brother, but the feeling of being watched overcame the urge and lured her to the window. She’d snapped the curtain aside and seen the creature, retreating into the well-lit courtyard, weaving through the night staff smokers who didn’t seem to see him. She couldn’t say for sure it had been Charlie that night, but she blamed him for putting her there, blamed him for the doctors trying to drug her when she told the story of the invisible people, and blamed him for leaving her no choice but to escape the hospital without Toby.

With Charlie distracted, she could escape again. But she wouldn’t. This time, she would do as her mother had asked. She would keep Toby safe.

Energy surged through her. Axel reached out and she twisted away. Charlie grabbed her arm before she could fall. She clenched her fist and swung it up towards his face with all the strength she had left. Her knuckles hit his mouth and a fang slit through his bottom lip.

For a while, he just stared at her. Droplets of blood plopped from his chin onto her lips. Spilled into her mouth, coppery and thick, sweet and tempting her to lick it all to save herself. She swallowed, sure she needed more, but she was afraid if she moved he’d snap her in two.

He laughed, making her jump as he used the back of his hand to swipe the rest of the blood from the already healing gash. “Like I said. Cute.”

Axel reached for her again and she let her weight drop. Charlie wouldn’t let her go. She didn’t have the strength to pull away so she screamed. All wrong. Toby’s presence had thrown her off. Her plans had failed. She was going to die.

The cold tip of Charlie’s nose skimmed the edge of her ear as he whispered. “Don’t give up so easy, kid. The cavalry has arrived.”

Even the living played the game of climbing buildings and leaping from insane heights, but after decades, David still couldn’t get used to his youngest sentries doing so. When the runner had dropped two stories to land in front of David’s moving car he’d been ready to grab the child and drag him to a padded room somewhere where he couldn’t take any more stupid risks.

But then the boy told David what he’d seen and David had left the runner to do his job. And got back in his car with his two best men to do his own. The warehouses were beyond his turf, but he wouldn’t let that stop him.

He’s gone too fucking far this time.

Leaving the car in the middle of the empty street, David strode toward the nightmarish scene he could only pray he’d interrupted in time. Tommy, his closest friend and enforcer for the past fifty years kept a pace behind him to his right, tying his long, curly blonde hair at the nape of his neck. Practically vibrating with violent energy, he clenched and unclenched his fists.

To David’s left Russell, who would be useless in a fight, raked his bright red hair from his face with his fingers and muttered something about ‘So much blood…’