Vampire Food 08: He Smelled Like Peach Pie (12 page)

She wasn’t sure who they belong to, but they definitely belong to a shifter.

“Em, it is so good to see you. We’re safe, you just need to get us out of here.”

Em knew the voice. It belonged to Eric. “Who is we?”

“Me and Shara. I guess we picked a bad night to fool around?”

Em chuckled. “I guess you could say that. As long as the two of you are okay.”

Shanagar hoisted up the boulder that was keeping them from lifting the metal plate. He walked it over to the pile and inserted it as a support stone at the bottom. Em grabbed the corner of the metal plate and lifted it up so the two people could get out from underneath. Eric pulled her into a hug. “Thank you so much. We figured that we were to be trapped in there for days.”

She was glad that they were free. “You’re welcome. Now you can start helping with the removal. We still have a lot of digging to do.”

Eric looked around and frowned. “Wow, I had no idea there was this much damage. His eyes latched on Shanagar and he leaned closer to Em. “Who the hell is that? He’s huge.”

Em chuckled. “His name is Shanagar. You might know him from your books of legend.”

Eric stared at her with wide eyes. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Shaking her head, Em took note of his completely awed expression. “No, I’m not kidding. He says that’s who he is, and I have no reason to doubt him.”

“I thought he was dead? Where the hell has he been for the last 300 years?”

“From what he says, he has been sealed up in the walls of the caves. When the explosion went off, it set them free.”

Shanagar strolled over. “Are you two all right?”

“Yeah, we are fine. Are you really Shanagar? I mean the Shanagar of legend?”

Shanagar shrugged. “I guess that I am. To say yes that I am legend sounds very odd.”

Em hadn’t thought about that. How strange it must be to know that everyone had considered him dead. Most people weren’t written about in history books while they were still alive. Exactly how old was he? He must be ancient. Em waited as Eric and Shara joined the search. She turned to Shanagar as he lifted another huge stone. “How old are you?”

He frowned and carried the stone over, setting it in place on the wall. The workers quickly began to fill in any spaces around it with cement. Walking back over, he smiled. “I’m one thousand and three.”

That was a shocking number for a man who appeared to be about thirty at best. “Holy shit.”

His grin was questioning, his head tilting slightly. “Holy referees to something being godly. What does that have to do with excrement or something impending?”

That was a very good question. Em lifted two smaller stones and added them to the wall. Shanagar followed her with a pile of rocks in his hands. “I have no idea. It is simply slang to relay supreme surprise. I never imagined that you were that old. Is that why Vidar wanted to kill you?”

“That’s part of it. Vidar wanted my land and with me alive, he couldn’t get it. I actually owned most of this mountain range before he and his vampires came here. I wasn’t aware that they had set themselves up in these caves until a hunter notified me. I came to speak with him. I was under armed and didn’t have many warriors with me. Of course, my warriors were human and ended up being little more than food for the existing vampires. When Vidar learned who I was, he was horrified. I could see fear in his face, but I underestimated him. His people attacked me in force and bound me in silver. I think that he planned to kill me, but there was a rumor that I wouldn’t die.”

He chuckled softly. “It was also said that I had the ability to come back from death if someone succeeded in taking my life. He was afraid to die and as such, was afraid to kill me. That’s why he sealed me up in the walls, bound and unable to fight back.”

“You have a problem with silver?”

“All vampires do.”

“Not all of them. I can wear silver if I want to. I would rather wear gold. Even my nipple rings are gold.” The comment came out before she really had a chance to consider what she was saying. It was another oops comment, that she probably shouldn’t have made, but couldn’t retract.

“I would like to see that someday. Why do you wear nipple rings?”

“Because Rory put them there. It was a gift.”

He added the stones to the pile and they walked back to the path they were digging together. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“I love all three of them. I don’t suppose that you know of any way to undo what has been done.”

Shaking his head, he frowned. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. I fear that the longer they are away from you, the more sexually starved they will become. The smell will also seem to them to get worse as they crave your body. Just as Rory now says that your scent makes his eyes burn.”

Em was afraid of the same thing. The thought had certainly crossed her mind. “What if they are sexually satisfied? Will I come to smell better?”

“It’s possible. It won’t stop them from loving you or wanting you though.”

“Nothing will ever stop that. We spoke vows of love to one another. If the legends are true, we can never truly leave one another. It will cause all of us pain.”

The worry on his face seemed to darken his eyes. “You spoke vows?”

“Yes. Almost a year ago.”

“Then this is even more intolerable than I imagined.”

Mia walked over, throwing her arms around Em. “Thank you. That hurt so much and I know you can understand that like no one else. I wanted to die, Em.”

“I know, Mia. Are you feeling better? You are obviously in one solid piece again.”

Mia giggled. “I am. It feels wonderful.”

She turned to Shanagar, her mouth falling open as he smiled. Mia was a smitten as Em was. “Uhm…I…”

The child was obviously having trouble speaking. Em felt the need to rescue her. “Mia, this is Shanagar. He was kind enough to pull you back together as I used my blood to seal the wounds.” It was probably not the most tactful way to explain, as it meant that Shanagar had seen her naked, but…

“Oh my. Uhm…Thank you…I guess.” Mia turned bright pink as her life fluid flooded her face.

Shanagar chuckled, his deep laughter absolutely stunning. Em felt like Mia was acting and she had to wonder if his blood was doing more than just make her smell bad. Was it an attractant as well as deterrent to other males?

He bowed his head to Mia. “It was an honor to help. Such a thing should never be done to a young woman. It was a cowardly act by heartless heathens upon the innocent. It is my joy to meet you now and see you happy and well. You look amazingly like your mother.”

Mia smiled brightly. “I wanted to look like her. Thank you.”

Mia had found her voice, yet was obviously smitten. She then turned a slightly hesitant grimace on Em. I asked Rory and Salt to come stay in my room. I know that they can’t sleep with you right now, and I’m kind of afraid to sleep alone. My room was always a little creepy, but now I don’t even want to go back there by myself. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine, Mia. That was very nice of you. We will work out the logistics later, okay.”

Mia nodded. “I want to help, but I’m still feeling a bit weak.”

Em was forcing herself to look at the reality of the situation. If she couldn’t be with the men she loved, then maybe it was a noble thing to hand them over to Mia. They could give her the comfort she needed now and maybe in time, could answer her sexual queries. Both men could be sweet and kind, although Em feared that they were suffering from imprint also. They had both become so accustomed to the things that Em enjoyed, they now also craved such arousing foreplay.

As Mia turned to walk away, Em asked, “Mia, did the fucked four happen to mention their next destination?”

Mia’s face went whiter, the slight rosy blush she had acquired from copying Em fading. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier. They said that they were heading back to Becka’s hometown. She had things to do there.”

“That’s odd. I thought that she told Russell that her entire clan was dead.”

Mia shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe she had family elsewhere.”

“Maybe. I’ll have to ask Russell.”

Mia turned and headed back to the makeshift stairs that been built for the humans.

Shanagar was grinning at her and she grinned. “What?”

“I was just admiring you. You’re not the only one who can do that, you know.”

“Was I being that obvious?”

“Absolutely not. You were very coy in your observations. I, on the other hand, am not. I look where my eyes find beauty.”

Em felt as if she was blushing and had to wonder if she actually was.

The wall was finished before sunrise and everyone who was alive now stood together in the open hall. Their population had dwindled considerably and of the members of the alliance, only seven vampires and three shifters had survived. The others had either been crushed beyond being revived or their cloths had torn and they were burned. The two weres who had voice in the meetings were also missing, but the chamber they had at the far end of the caves was still under rubble and a small crew was working to remove it. Em looked down at her hands. They were cut and bleeding, her fingers shredded by the stones she had carried. Everyone who could now smell her was keeping a far distance with many bodies between them and her as if they blocked the scent.

Rory had tried to approach her with his fingers plugging his nose, but it had done little good. The scent had seeped in through his mouth the moment he had tried to speak. With watery eyes, he had started to gag and had been forced to move away. He promised that he would come to her in dreams so they could talk and she was looking forward to that at least. Salt approached despite the discomfort it was causing him. He hugged her and whispered that he loved her before starting to choke so he was forced to retreat.

Em leaned into Russell for support. With everything done and the business of the night over, she was weary to the core. She looked out over those who were gathered, knowing that she was considered the voice of reason. Everyone seemed as if they were waiting for her to speak. She called out, “I hope that the weres are found in good health. I know that we will all deeply miss those who died this day. It was a cowardly act propagated by four people who had no appreciation for the life we have built here together. For anyone who has not met Shanagar, please make him feel welcome. He was imprisoned by Vidar three hundred years ago and needs all our help to bring him up to date on life. As for myself, I will offer those of you who find my blood scent repulsive a reprieve. I’m going to bed. Good day.”

The sea of people parted to allow her to pass. Russell walked by her side, but Shanagar did not follow. She could feel that he was no longer near and turned to find him. The group had surrounded him and he was answering questions, but his eyes were still on her. It was odd to see him standing heads above the crowd. “Are you coming?”

A smile brightened his face and he excused himself, making his way toward her. Russell had briefly told her about the conversation he had with Rory and Salt. Both men had said that it was in all their best benefit for Shanagar to remain with Em. Hopefully they could undo the scent of Shanagar’s blood, but if they couldn’t, she would need a strong man like him in her life. Em wasn’t even sure if he would fit in the bed. The bed in their chamber had been oversized, but the one she was returning to this morning was a standard queen sized. He might be better off to sleep on the sofa.

* * * *

Mia touched Salt’s arm and he turned to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you okay? I know that was hard to watch. The two of you are so noble to do that for Em.”

“It is more than noble, Mia. What good will it do if we find a cure, but Em has lost her mind? It is better that she is loved and protected than to have her fall back into a state of depression. We know her well and fear what will happen to her with only one mate. It is no longer enough for her and we all know it.”

Mia had no idea what that kind of love felt like and Salt knew that she couldn’t understand. It was painful beyond belief to know that they were giving Em to Shanagar, but for now, it was the only way. Hopefully he would be enough to keep her busy and happy. Russell hadn’t been happy with the concept, but he understood enough to agree. Salt felt slightly bad for him. He had always considered both Rory and Russell intimidating figures. It was probably why he had worked so hard to master his skills with a whip. It was his way of evening the odds in the bedroom.

Salt was secretly happy that he had gotten to spend the last night with Em alone. It had been spectacular to watch the expression on her face as he sat masturbating before her. He had always wondered if she could break the fortified steel chains and she had done it with little trouble. He would have had to repair them if they were still usable, but their entire bedroom was gone. The remaining stone had been used to recreate a somewhat smooth floor and fill in any gaps in the wall. They might eventually build new chambers up on the new balcony, but they would never be the same. The stone had blocked the noise from below and wooden walls would never do that. Those who had been displaced would more likely just move into some of the existing empty caves.

The cave that Em was now sleeping in had belonged to a pair of vampires who had been killed by the sun. It was a nice room, but Em would probably make other arrangements. It was a single interior room with no window and Em wouldn’t be happy there. Of course, almost everything they owned was now gone. Most of what they had found had been so damaged it was not worth trying to salvage. They had the clothing on their backs and the blankets from their bed. Their mattress had been sent to storage, but it was torn in a few places. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

* * * *

Rory put a hand to Salt’s shoulder. “Should we take Mia up on her offer? I’m really tired. I think we should go pull our mattress from storage and use it. She doesn’t have a second bed.”

Salt nodded and they headed across the hall together. The meeting hall had been set up for any of the belongings of those who were still alive. Their mattress was against the wall with their quilt folded neatly on top of it. Rory grabbed one end, walking backward as Salt took the other side. Between them, they walked it down to Mia’s room. She had left the door open for them and was sitting on the bed, her skin ghostly white.