Cast in Blood (Morgan Blackstone Vampires Book 1) (20 page)

“That’s what happens when you frighten little girls.” Nicholas said from the shadows. Wide blue eyes pinned him before they narrowed. “Oh good, your brain is not completely fried.”

“Who the fuck, are you?” The man spat, bloodshot eyes dragged themselves over Nicholas, catching the glint of silver at his wrist, and the flashes of gold and platinum on two fingers.
 

“You don’t want to do that, young man,” Nicholas whispered, and took a slow step back into the alley, positioning the light from the street lamp, so it caught the diamonds set in his wedding band. The human’s eyes latched on the sparkle and smiled, showing a set of perfect white teeth.

“Hand over your money, and jewelry, I’ll let you walk away.” he growled in a predictable, almost cliché manner. It made Nicholas laugh.

“This was an anniversary gift from my wife.” Nicholas pointed to the white gold Rolex. He chuckled and took a step further into the velvet shadows. “I doubt she’d forgive me for handing it over to the likes of you.” The predator in him watched with satisfaction as the human mirrored his movement.
You’re already calculating that score you think you’re going to get from selling these trinkets
.

“You’d prefer to make her a widow?”
 

“Of course not,” Nicholas answered, as the human pulled a gun from his jacket pocket. Nicholas smiled, flashing the sharp points of his long canine teeth. “You however, intended to make that young woman’s fiancé as good as a widower,” he mused, closing the distance, feeling the press of the gun’s muzzle in his stomach. “And without remorse, so, perhaps you should explain to me why I should show you one moment of mercy?” Nicholas slipped his hand around the back of the human’s neck, caressing the warm flesh like a lover. The human sputtered protestations while Nicholas slid the gun from his trembling grip.
 

“Please don’t.”

“Don’t what? Don’t kill you? Not happening,” Nicholas whispered, and then he struck. There was a moment of resistance from the human’s flesh, a token fight against death. Then Nicholas’s fangs ripped through the layers of skin. The delicate tips pierced the vessel deep within, releasing a hot flood of metallic wine into his mouth. Clutching the human to his chest with an iron grip, Nicholas moved deeper into the alley, drinking.
 

The frantic heartbeat thundered in his ears, while the blood began suffusing Nicholas with strength. The pulse began stuttering, fighting to sustain the frantic pace, trying to stave off death. Nicholas withdrew his fangs and let the dying man fall to the ground.

Blue eyes fluttered, begging without words, for mercy. Nicholas knelt, examining the wound. He drew one of the daggers from the sheath on his wrist before hiding the bite marks with a quick, deep slash to the human’s throat.

“Mercy is not mine to offer,” he said to the corpse, before using the dead man’s t–shirt to clean the blade.
 

“Ah Nicholai, this is better than I could have expected,” Alexander chuckled. Nicholas spun around, rising from his crouch, senses alert. The younger vampire was clapping with feigned civility, as he sauntered toward Nicholas, pale blue eyes burning with madness.

That was a stupid, stupid move, Nicholai, being caught off your guard,
he thought. “So, what I heard is true. Someone did let you out. Perfect. Now I can execute you, without the Council interfering,” Nicholas growled, drawing his sword out of the cane. “I’ve wanted to do this since you stole her blood and made yourself one of us.”

“How did you do it? I was always the better match for her, more powerful, influential.”

“You forgot narcissistic, psychotic, controlling, and misogynistic. I wonder why she just didn’t fall at your feet when you tried to court her.”

“She screamed your name. When the procedures got painful, she screamed,” Alexander ran his tongue across his lower lip.
 

“I should have ended you centuries ago,” Nicholas snarled, feeling rage tense his muscles. Alexander drew a short sword from a sheath on his back, as Nicholas settled into a fighting stance.

“What do you think it will do to her when I send her your heart?” Alexander growled, prowling closer. It was there, in an instant, the scene played out in Nicholas’s mind.
 

Morgan stood in the foyer, the chandelier casting a shadow over her features. A black box rested in her hands, a small piece of paper fell from the top of it, a hand shot out and caught it before it hit the floor. She lifted the lid of the box just enough to confirm what was inside. Moving with inhuman speed she snapped the box closed. In an instant the other hand was there, trying to take it, but Morgan clutched the box to her chest and dropped to her knees. She curled herself around the box as though it was the only thing holding her together.

The mini movie had only taken seconds to play out in the theater of his mind, enough to shift Nicholas’s focus. The distraction was enough. Alexander was there, rushing him. Nicholas caught sight of movement and threw his arms up, protecting his heart as Alexander slammed into, and propelled them back to the end of the alley.
 

Dear Gods, he’s stronger than before, but how is that possible?
Nicholas had time to think before his head slammed against the block wall with a sickening crack.
 

“I thought you’d have more fight in you than this,
Assassin
. Pretty little
Morgan
, was more of a challenge.” he sneered, pulling his sword back, readying for a fatal blow. Nicholas’s world narrowed, to the steel that was about to end his life. An image of Morgan clutching the box containing his heart in one hand and a blood stained rapier in the other, flashed in his mind. Nicholas swatted the blade away with his, leaving a long deep wound in the other vampire’s arm.

“I wonder how Morgan will react when
I
bring her
your
heart,” he thought out loud, a smile curling his
 
lips. Alexander staggered backward, staring at the wound in his arm, as though it wasn’t something he’d been expecting. Nicholas used the distraction to his advantage and slipped past his defenses. His blade was less than an inch from plunging into Alexander’s heart, when he caught Nicholas’s arm with his free hand, and wrenched it away. Pain blossomed, a scream was ripped from the Lead Enforcer, he felt joints pop, bones grind against one another to the point of breaking, and muscles rip. Using his injured arm as leverage Alexander forced the Lead Enforcer to his knees.

“It is fitting that you should be on your knees when I kill you. You were always too haughty for a soldier.” Alexander laid his blade against the side of Nicholas’s neck for a moment, before he drew it back for the fatal strike.

There’s not much time, someone must have heard that. I need more time, I’ve got to stay rational,
Nicholas thought, fighting through the haze of pain and searing rage.
The timing has got to be perfect.
 

“Don’t move,” a male voice echoed through the alley, filled with the kind of authority that Nicholas knew well, human law enforcement. Alexander laughed and started his swing. Three quick shots rang out and Nicholas used his good arm to plunge his dagger into Alexander’s thigh. The force of the blow was enough to change the trajectory of the fatal swing, so it caught Nicholas’s upper arm. Bullets ripped into Alexander’s back, center mass. He staggered, and Nicholas sprang to his feet. Wild ice blue eyes assessed the situation in an instant before falling on Nicholas, filled with scorn.

“Another time
Assassin,
” Alexander hissed, before disappearing into the night.

“What was that about?” the human asked, as if sensing that the danger had passed.

Nicholas took a moment to assess the man who had saved his life. He had dark brown unkempt hair, a slight goatee, and in spite of the situation, seemed to be smirking. “It’s an old argument.” Nicholas cradled his ruined arm against his chest, dagger ready in his good hand.
Gods, this is foolish in so many ways. Morgan has every right to rip my head off when I get home.

“Do you need a hospital?” Eric asked, taking in the vampire’s condition.

“No. What did you shoot him with?”
The damage was massive. Under normal circumstances, it should slow any vampire down long enough to finish the job.
He thought, taking a moment to pick up his discarded sheath. He settled it back on the blade, and the cane looked harmless again.

“Glaser rounds, they shatter on impact, doing maximum damage. Elizabeth theorized…” The human began.

“Elizabeth,” Nicholas whispered under his breath. “You’re Eric?” He paused, taking a moment to really look at the young man who was his Enforcer’s blood donor.

“Yeah, we live right here.” He gestured to the house on the right side of the alley. “I heard a scream and came to check it out. You should get out of here. Back up’s on the way and I don’t think I can explain your condition to them,” Eric replied, his eyes drifting over Nicholas in a manner that suggested an examination for evidence.

“How do you know I won’t kill you before they get here?” Nicholas asked, then dropped to one knee and picked up his dagger, wiping the long blade along his jacket cleaning off the blood.

“I don’t.”
 

“Will you take care of this?” Nicholas nodded toward the corpse at his feet.

“I can tell the cops I found him, but didn’t see anyone else.”

“Thank you.” Nicholas answered, before slipping into the shadows, protecting his injured arm.
What the hell happened back there? Alexander’s never been a skilled fighter, it was little more than a street brawl the last time we tangled. While his style hasn’t changed, his strength was beyond normal. It’s going to take most of the night for this to heal,
he thought, as he walked, sticking to the deep shadows, pulling them around him like a security blanket. Within minutes, Nicholas was standing outside the townhouse, trying to compose himself.
What the hell am I going to tell her? It’s not like I can hide this.

“Let me see how bad it is,” she ordered from inside the house. Nicholas glanced up and saw her, framed by the open door. He had to fight to keep his emotions in check, as the image of her in such distress, crept back into his mind.
 

“Morgan I…” he started, but she shook her head and cut him off.

“Nicholas, don’t.” she insisted her voice soft with steel beneath it. Before he could react, Morgan pulled him into the house, steering him by the elbow of his good arm.
 

“Christophe, I need something to use as a sling,” she ordered, and a memory filled Nicholas’s mind. Calm and efficient, as she moved through a World War II era hospital filled with injured soldiers, tending wounds, easing emotional pain. Morgan slipped Nicholas’s jacket off and frowned, the blood hadn’t shown on the black leather, but the pale blue shirt showed every drop. She tossed Marcus the jacket.

“What happened, Assassin?” Marcus asked. Nicholas looked away from Morgan, and saw that his old friend was armed to the teeth.

“I got careless while feeding. I didn’t notice Alexander watching until he made his presence known.” Nicholas paused, biting back a cry of pain as Morgan slid the ruined shirt off his injured arm. “He was insanely strong, Old Man. So much so that when he charged, we crashed into a wall. I think I may have fractured my skull.” As soon as the words left his mouth Nicholas felt Morgan’s deft fingers at the back of his head. He gritted his teeth, as the pain lanced through him while his wife probed his skull with gentle hands. Morgan sighed and turned her attention back to his arm.
I guess that means nothing broken there. Either that or she found something and doesn’t want me to know about it because there’s nothing she can do to fix it. Can vampires get brain damage?

“There’s no easy way to get this off,” Morgan muttered, breaking into his train of thoughts.
 

“What?” Nicholas asked, not understanding what she meant.

“It’s going to hurt like a bitch when I take this off,” she answered, with what seemed like infinite patience, as she indicated the sheath.
 

“Just take it off,” Nicholas growled.

“Nicholas, how on earth did Alexander do so much damage? I know I’m not seeing everything, but based on what I can, there are broken bones, and I’m not sure, but I think there’s some muscle damage was well,” Morgan said her thin veneer of professionalism covering her genuine fear.

“Would you believe brute strength? Crushed the bones and wrenched the arm.” He growled, as Morgan unbuckled the sheath and removed it with care.
 

“I’ve never heard of that before. I think we need to be more on our guard than we have been,” Marcus mumbled, shaking his head. Morgan glanced at him, and knew that his mind was already turning over how to increase their security.

“You’re right. If we have to go somewhere, we check in regularly, and no one goes out unarmed.”
Giving orders, making certain that everything is taken care of, yeah, that I can manage, no problem. Getting my lovely wife to see reason, well that’s always another matter.
“Morgan I…”
 

“You want me in the safe room? Not happening,” Morgan insisted, cutting him off. She paused for a moment, considering what she wanted to say, before continuing. “I will sleep in there, but I am not going to lock myself away.” She folded her arms and waited for him to fight back.