Taboo (A Tale of the Talhari Book 1) (18 page)

“Tell me what you want,” he said, panting.

“I want you.”

“Say it again.”

“I want you.”

He drove into her with a force that had her crying out. He was taking her the way she’d always dreamed a man would take her.

She screamed, she clawed, she became wild and she didn’t care if anyone heard her. For a while she forgot anyone other than herself and Alaric existed.

He rocked his hips into her, milking the orgasm from her.

When she thought it was too much; when she thought she’d go crazy from the pleasure, the orgasm broke over her.

She bucked helplessly beneath him, called out his name.

Alaric fell on top of her, hips still pistoning, as he too climaxed.

Gradually, slowly, he stilled. They both stilled.

She didn’t know how much time passed while they lay there, sticky and clinging to each other.

She was finally able to catch her breath.

He breathed against her ear, whispered how much he loved her.

She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, waited for him to move, for his weight to lift off of her, but it didn’t.

Then she realized, Alaric was asleep.

Even more surprising than this revelation was the realization that there was no place else she’d rather be.

Chapter Eighteen

She woke with the sun. The sky was clear and a deep, crystalline blue. It would be a gorgeous day. That didn’t seem right, because she knew today would not be a good day.

Beside her, Alaric stirred. His bare shoulder appeared from under the covers, then his chest as he levered himself up in the bed. “You’re awake.”

She nodded. “I had a hard time sleeping. I couldn’t shut my mind down.”

“I know the feeling.”

She looked at him then tried to smile bravely, but couldn’t manage it. “He’s coming for us today, isn’t he? Him and his creations.”

Alaric dragged a hand through his tangled hair, pulling snags free. “I think so. The SG contacted every motherhouse along the east coast for assistance. Houses in Delaware, New York, Virginia, all the way down to South Carolina, were able to send people. Others need more time. Saul knows that we’re at our most vulnerable right now. As soon as the sun goes down I think he’ll be here.”

“Won’t he know we’re expecting him?”

“Yeah, but if he waits until tomorrow night our numbers will have more than quadrupled. He won’t stand a chance against us.”

They got up after that, showered, dressed and went down to meet the others.

The day seemed to drag by. Everyone was on edge, snapping unnecessarily at each other. The SG made sure everyone had enough blood for what was to come later that evening, but the blood did little to make anyone’s mood better. Along with Alaric’s team of five, teams from Delaware, three from Pennsylvania, two from West Virginia, a team from North Carolina and two from South Carolina arrived. That put them at a head count of fifty Talhari warriors. Which should be more than enough considering only twenty-four had escaped and Alaric’s team had taken down at least seven of those.

Though Alaric’s plan included her locking herself in her bedroom where she would be safe, she rejected that plan. Only the warriors trained extensively for battle, but all Talhari knew how to fight. Her place was with the other historians on the second line of defense.

“She’s stronger than most,” Paul said to Alaric during one of the many arguments of the day. “She has Saul’s blood. We can use her.”

“I don’t like it,” Alaric kept saying. “Saul’s shown far too great an interest in her. She needs to be locked away.”

The argument was settled when she announced, “I’m fighting. Period. If you attempt to lock me in my room, I will break out. And you know I can.”

Alaric glared at her for a few seconds, then waved his hand in acceptance. “Fine.”

As the sun faded into the western horizon, the teams got into place. At least two took up a spot at an entrance. There was an entrance from the rooftop that couldn’t be ignored since some of these beasts had wings, the main level entrances, and the basement entrance. Sydney didn’t like that everyone was so spread out, but it was the only logical thing to do.

The last glimmer of the sun’s rays seemed to flicker out from the west facing windows in the library. Then, like magic, the world outside went black.

In the library, she sat with the SG, Dr. Giles, Trevor and several others who made up the kitchen staff, library staff, and housekeeping staff. There were twenty-five in all. Still, she couldn’t help but feel exposed.

The SG stood at the windows, staring out into the darkness. Sydney could almost feel her tension. An attack like this had never happened at a motherhouse. That it was being led by Saul, the first vampire, was unthinkable. And that Saul had his own army.

She watched the hand on the old wall clock tick each second by. She’d already offered up a prayer for Alaric’s safety, and for her own, and for everyone else. Saul could not be allowed to win. What would happen to this region if they lost the Talhari? But she knew the answer to that. It would be overrun by bloodsuckers and undesirables. And not the ordinary, run of the mill bloodsuckers
and undesirables, but bloodsuckers
and undesirables on steroids. The Talhari had to defeat Saul. There was no other option.

Saul didn’t wait long to make his move. The SG was staring out the window, people were moving around the library uncomfortably, when a cry rose from upstairs.

Alaric was downstairs, she reminded herself. Safe for now. He was in the basement with his team. No sound had come from there.

Her focus jerked back upstairs when she heard more screaming. And then she heard the sound that had turned her blood cold so many nights ago. A creature cawed. Just as one had on the night Cora was murdered.

Saul was here.

The attack had begun.

Chapter Nineteen

More shouts came down from above, as did the sound of fighting. Was Saul up there? Was she even prepared to see Saul? After their last encounter she wasn’t so sure.

“Stand your ground,” the captain of the Delaware warriors shouted from the main entrance. “They could have broken into multiple groups and be waiting for us to leave our post.”

“But it sounds like a slaughter,” a female said. “We have to help.”

“Stand your ground!”

It did sound like a slaughter. And worst still, Sydney didn’t think the girl would have to wait long to be part of the battle. It was coming closer.

The library became chaos when a bloodied warrior burst into the room. The SG swung around, Dr. Giles and Trevor rocketed to their feet, the others rushed forward.

“They are legion,” the warrior said, falling to his knees as he spoke.

He had a gash across his face and a far more serious one across the abdomen. Blood was spilling freely from it. Sydney didn’t think he had long.

“You said no more than twenty,” he accused the SG.

The SG came forward, her pristine cargo pants and shirt somehow continuing to look posh. “Yes. Twenty-four escaped, but my team calculate killing seven.”

“There were at least forty of those monsters upstairs.”

The SG stumbled back a step, clutching her throat. “That can’t be.”

“It is.” He coughed and fell forward. His hand landed in the blood that had been pooling on the ground at his knees. “They are legion. We don’t stand a chance.”

He fell face first to the carpeted floor, unmoving.

“How can that be?” The SG demanded. “It doesn’t make sense.”

But it made sense to Sydney. “It’s like Alaric said. Maybe the beasts only killed as a means to lose their soul. They turned the others they attacked.”

The fighting was nearing the main level. Those at the front entrance continued to murmur.

Sydney wanted to do something. It felt wrong to huddle in the library. It felt cowardly.

Glass shattered from somewhere near the front of the house. The Delaware captain shouted, and then all was chaos.

Creatures burst into the house through busted windows and broken down doors. They loped forward, cawing and hissing. Sydney felt quite suddenly like she’d been transported into hell.

The SG was the first in the library to swing into action. She lifted the sword that had been clutched in her hand, and ran forward.

Sydney grabbed an axe off the table where she’d been sitting. They’d said she was stronger than most. It was time to test that theory.

The first creature she came upon lashed out at her. She ducked under his arm, surprised at how fast she’d been able to move, then swung the axe at the side of its knee. She’d expected to cut a chunk of flesh from the beast, but instead the axe sliced through both knees, cutting off its legs from the knees down.

It landed sideways on the floor, kicking helplessly. The pitiful sound it made was one she didn’t think she’d ever forget. But she couldn’t show this creature mercy. Its brother hadn’t shown mercy to Cora.

Remembering what Alaric and his team had told her, she brought the axe down on the creature’s throat, cutting its head off.

There was no time to celebrate. Two more of the beasts were on her. One slammed a fist into her back. She knew she should have been knocked to her knees by the blow, but it only made her stumble.

She kicked back at the monster as she swung the axe at the beast in front of her. As the head of the beast in front of her fell to the carpet, she swung the blade around, twisting where she stood, cutting the other creature’s head off, too.

She couldn’t see what was happening with anyone else. There were so many of them. That warrior had been right. Far more than twenty.

Alaric had also been right. Sydney was strong. Outnumbered as they were, the creatures were no match for her. She could take out three without much effort. It was like wrestling with her nieces and nephews when they’d been children.

She chopped off another head, was turning to bring the axe down on another of them, but froze.

The SG was walking out of the library, but not just walking. She looked over her shoulder, then ran out the back, as though she wanted to be sure nobody was watching.

Sydney swung her axe, no longer trying to decapitate, instead looking to make a path to the back of the library. It took her a good five minutes to get there, but she managed it.

Once in the hallway she looked down at her clothes and grimaced. She was covered in blood and guts. There was nothing she could do about that now except swipe the worst of it off. She wanted to know where the SG had gone. But really, that didn’t take a rocket scientist. Deciding to check the obvious, she cautiously made her way down the rear hall and up the stairs toward the SG’s office. She expected attack at any moment, but it seemed the fight had been kept to the front of the house.

She could see the SG’s office at the end of the hall. The door was closed, but light glowed from beneath the door.

She crept closer, trying not to make a sound.

“You actually called in backup?”

Was that Saul?

“To ensure you didn’t double cross me,” The SG shouted back. “Which you have done. You said nothing about procreation.”

Sydney froze. The SG and Saul. How was that possible?

Sydney picked up the pace, walking until she could press her ear to the door, even though she didn’t need to. They were shouting so loud the whole house could have heard.

“I provided you with test subjects,” Saul was saying, “as requested. This was your plan, not mine. If I wanted to destroy the Talhari I could do it without your assistance.”

“I don’t want to destroy the Talhari and you know that. This is a purification.
Murder no one
,” she scoffed. Sydney could almost see the SG sneer at the words. “We’re vampires. That is what we do.”

“Agreed.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“By allowing procreation I have made the plan better, tripled the size of our army. Can’t you see that?”

“I see that I have you on the one hand and on the other I’m sure Alaric is on to me. I’m convinced of it.”

“That is why I said he needed to be eliminated for our plan to work. Do you really think he’ll sit by and accept your new vision of what the Talhari should be?”

“He will follow orders. He is one of the best warriors the Talhari has and I need him. We need him.”

“You’re delusional.”

“And what of the girl? Do you think I’m stupid? She was meant as your own, personal kill switch.”

“She was supposed to break him, yes.” Saul sighed. “Unfortunately the two have managed to create some kind of bond. In just a few days. Can you imagine that? She has my blood running through her veins. That should have been enough to make the bloodlust control her.”

“You underestimated her,” the SG said.

“And you underestimated Alaric.”

Saul sighed again. “I am the first. I could destroy him without breaking a sweat.”

Sydney stepped back from the door. She knew the truth now. There had never been an escape. That’s why Alaric was never warned about it. Saul provided the SG with test subjects and the SG turned those test subjects back over to Saul once they were ready. They were planning to reshape the Talhari, make the order into an order of killers. Bloodsuckers and other undesirables.