Phew! This chapter took some effort to write. I hope the story's still going in the right direction. I think I'm about 2-3 chapters from the end, give or take. It's hard to say!
To those new to this series, I would recommend starting from the beginning.
To the followers, and everyone who stopped to vote, email, or comment, thank you for your support! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
XOXO
****
Tyrus took in the vampires at the door, his mind racing. He counted three males and one female. They stumbled in, disoriented, still getting used to their undead bodies.
They had likely followed instinct to get here, sensing the gathering of many prey in one spot. They were sluggish now, eyes meant for darkness blinkingly adjusting to the bar's lights, but they wouldn't be for long.
He let the trained agent in him take over, mentally running through his options in seconds. His eyes scanned the bar, assessing. Every head was turned to the newcomers, and the entire place was drenched with the smell of fear. He knew what he had to do, but he had to act fast.
Newly turned vampires were unpredictable at best, horribly destructive at worst. They were driven by their hunger, and would savagely drink their victims dry with no ability to stop. They had to be watched over until they learned to control the bloodlust.
He figured that was why the four rebels had hung around. They were recruiting new team members, using this town as their training ground away from the watchful eye of the Governance.
It was one thing to set a bunch of rabid vampires loose on the world, quite another to deliberately raise and train an army. That took time, and patience. How many other towns like this were out there, breeding grounds for their enemy? It seemed they had a much bigger threat than they had originally estimated.
He had two jobs tonight. One, disable the vampires. Two, make sure none of this got out to the human world. Nobody could remember whatever was about to go down here.
Tyrus knew that the easiest solution would be to kill the four vampires in front of him, but he'd be damned if he let them die without trying to redeem their sanity. They hadn't chosen this. Not too long ago, they'd been human, going about their ordinary lives.
He of all people knew what it was like to have his life ripped away. And when he'd come to his senses, as Satine's captive, he'd chosen to
live
again. They deserved that choice. Somehow, he had to do this without anyone getting hurt.
One of the vampires let out a snarl, revealing his fangs. Someone in the bar screamed.
Tyrus snapped into action, taking charge. "Connor, block the front. Sam, take the back. Nobody gets out, but nobody dies. We'll need to wipe their memories later. Lara, let's get these vampires. They're not rebels yet. We take them alive."
He stared down the incredulous look on Lara's face, daring her to defy him. She only threw him a look that said
you're crazy
, but didn't counter his plan. She shot past him towards the entrance, not bothering to hide her preternatural speed.
They moved seamlessly, each understanding their own role immediately.
He turned around to look at Anya, wishing he had the time to do better than a hasty peck on her forehead. "Anya, love... stay down. Use your powers if you have to."
He had to trust that she was ready. A man near the bar raised a shaky hand, his phone aimed at the entrance and set to video record. Tyrus rolled his eyes and snarled. In an instant, he had snatched the phone and tossed it into the man's pint of beer.
"Nobody try that again, you hear me?" He addressed the bar. He knew that his fangs were out and his eyes were blazing amber, but he couldn't care now what they thought of him. Menacing worked better than friendly in situations like these.
"Don't even think about sending out a call, or even a text. We'll get to you first, and it will only annoy us. Hands out where we can see them. If you want to live, you'd better follow what I say."
The humans cowered, but they stayed put, placing their hands either in front of them on a table or up in the air.
Lara was already with the vampires. She had snapped one of their necks, effectively knocking him out cold on the floor, but the other three had seen it and were keeping their distance. They snarled at her, jaws snapping.
Connor blocked their exit, but they weren't even looking to the door. They were wondering how to get past Lara so that they could feed. The humans nearest to them whimpered, reading their intentions perfectly.
Lara gave an impatient sigh and froze one of them in place with her mind. He stood completely still, unable to so much as even blink. His face had frozen mid-snarl, and a glob of spittle escaped the corner of his mouth. Calmly, Lara walked over to him and delivered a swift kick to his spine.
A loud crack filled the air, and the vampire roared with pain. More than a few humans flinched. He crumpled to the ground, conscious, his lower body paralysed. Growling, he made a swipe at Lara's feet. She dodged easily, then laid out another hard kick to his head. His skull thudded hard against the floor, and he finally slipped into oblivion. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
Vampires three and four took their chances whilst Lara was occupied, and lunged for the nearest humans. One of them, the female, succeeded in dragging a man out of his chair. He screamed, eyes wide with terror. He swung wildly, trying to deliver a punch, but couldn't ground his feet the right way and the swing was weak. The female caught his fist mid-swing, then pulled him up against her. He easily had more than a foot over her petite frame, but she held him effortlessly.
She smiled in satisfaction at the prey in her hands, fangs gleaming through her lips. Then Tyrus was there, knocking her back with his fists. Seeing a woman's head snap back from a hit to the face always unnerved him, but he had learned long ago not to pull his punches around a supernatural. She stepped back, stunned, but still clung on to her prey.
Tyrus kicked her feet out from under her and her knees buckled, finally causing her to release her grip. The man stumbled to the safety of his friends, shaking. He finished off the vampire with a kick to the head.
Tyrus turned just in time to see Lara reach her hands around the last vampire's head and snap his neck.
"Well, that went surprisingly well," Lara said, flashing a quick smile. She laid her hands on her hips, surveying the bodies on the floor. "You wanted them alive. What do we do with them now?"
"Take them outside. We'll get them fed, and see if we can bring them back to their senses without killing anyone," Tyrus said. Based on their injuries, they had about a couple of hours before the vampires woke up. That would buy them some time to find a place to contain them.
A whimper sounded from one of the humans near the door, reminding Tyrus of task number two.
"Connor, can you get these vamps out on your own? I need Lara to help me wipe these people."
Connor nodded and heaved a body over his shoulder, then hefted another against his side. He brought them out, then repeated the process with the next two.
Tyrus and Lara set to work, methodically wiping each human's memory until they had gotten to every single person in the bar. They managed to get all of them wiped, before the first humans snapped out of their post-wipe daze and noticed anything amiss.
The noise of chattering and movement returned to the space. It was as if the last ten minutes had never happened. The man who had tried to video the whole thing stared at the phone in his beer, frowning.
"How much have I had to drink?" He asked his friends in confusion.
"Too much buddy, that's for sure. I didn't even see that happen!" His friend laughed, clapping him on the back. The man laughed too, his mind accepting the most logical possibility of how his phone had ended up in his drink.
Sam and Anya came up to Tyrus and Lara.
"I always find it creepy when you guys do that," she said, looking out at the oblivious patrons in the bar.
They walked out into the night air. Connor had moved the bodies off to one side, hidden from view. They needed to move fast, before any humans came by.
Tyrus couldn't help scanning over Anya, first with his eyes, then with his hands, making sure that she was okay. She grumbled as his fingers ran over her arms and hips.
"I'm fine Tyrus, they never even came close. I stayed behind the bar the whole time, laying low like you told me to," she said.
He had to fight the urge to take her there and then. After all the adrenaline, his demon wanted to claim her. Thoroughly. She caught his gaze and stilled, drawing in a sharp breath. He growled, wrapping his arms around her possessively and claiming her mouth. He made sure they were both panting and breathless before forcing himself to let go.
"Sam, take Anya back to my room and keep her safe," he said thickly through fangs, fighting his demon for control. "The rest of us will take care of this mess."
Then he turned and picked up one of the unconscious vampires, Lara and Connor following suit. They still had work to do.
****
Connor walked Lara to her room. She unlocked the door and stopped at the doorway, turning around to face him.
It was now close to three in the morning. They had brought the fledgeling vamps to the forest, to where the hidden den had been. After poking around the den, they'd found chains and locks that the rebels had stashed away, in preparation for when the fledgelings rose.
The four were now securely tied the up, and fed, courtesy of the blood that they'd hurriedly stolen from the small hospital's blood bank. They were slowly coming around, but not quite yet. Tyrus had decided to stay until the fledglings were capable of forming coherent thoughts. He'd also insisted that Lara and Connor should head back, now that the vampires were safely restrained.
Connor knew that Tyrus could handle himself, but couldn't help but feel a tug of worry for his friend. He couldn't shake off the image of Tyrus, crouched on the floor, hand outstretched to gently coax one of the fledgelings to drink more blood. He knew his old friend would be good and broody tomorrow. He couldn't even begin to imagine what memories the night's events would dredge up for Tyrus, having had such a rough time with his own turning.
"So, long night huh." Lara's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
She was leaning against her doorframe, regarding him. The door was ajar, a wordless invitation. He knew what her eyes said - the ball was in his court. Whatever happened next was up to him.
"More like long week," he replied, stepping closer. If he had to choose between sex and sleep, he'd choose sex. He
always
chose sex. "I know just the thing to cap it off."
Lara grinned, lust simmering in her eyes, turning them a smoky grey. She pushed the door all the way open, then stepped backwards into the room, crooking her finger for him to follow. He entered after her, kicking the door shut whilst keeping his eyes fixed on her.
She stalked forward, backing him up against the door as it closed.
"Just so we're clear, I'm not into relationships," he said to her.
"Perfect, we're on the same page," Lara responded without breaking her stride.
Connor returned her grin with one of his own, as warm, sexy female pressed up against him. He leaned back, letting her take charge.
