Death's Servant (The V V Inn, First Prequel Book) (9 page)

“What?” The question leaks past my shock-parched lips, quiet enough to be more of a whisper. Fear squeezes my heart as my muscles tense. “You don’t plan on...?” I trail off, afraid to voice my inner fear that she may not stop her killing spree with just the vampires.

“Worried I’ll hurt the wolves?” she asks, a twinge of annoyance on her pale as porcelain face. “Now really, Jon. What kind of help would I be if I intended to kill the wolves? Anyone with some accelerant and a lighter could’ve done that ages ago by burning this whole place to the ground.”

I turn to face her, confusion spilling out of me. “Well, then...?”

She reaches out one pale hand, cupping my cheek with a delicate touch. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save Raine.” Her eyes dart to the group of skinny huddled bodies outside of the building that held me hostage a week ago. “I plan on helping as many of the wolves as I can, trust me. I would’ve never accepted your offer otherwise.”

She drops her hand and strides to the ragged pack of Weres. I trail behind her, unsure what she’s got planned. She stops ten feet from a stooped man with matted hair and a scraggly beard, who huddles over the emaciated form of an equally dirty woman. Dria angles her head my way, her voice coming out low, for my ears only. “The night is not over, Jon. Not by a long shot. Sure, the worst of the hell is past, but we’ve got hours more ahead of us.” Her eyes flick behind us to the empty mansion. “Rafe will be here soon. We’ll be burning this place to the ground—he’ll start on getting it prepped.” She motions with her chin toward the couple. “I think those are the alphas. I need to talk with them before proceeding with the next stage of my plan.” Her serious stare drills into mine. “I need you by my side. Are you up for it?”

Resolve stiffens my spine. I may not have been able to save Raine, but I will follow through with my promise to this deadly creature.

Her eyes sharpen while she stares at me. “Well?”

“You can count on me, Dria.”

After a small nod she approaches the couple, crouching down to their level on the ground. “Are you the alphas of this pack?”

The man nods, his hand coming up to rest on his wife’s shoulder. “Yes. I’m Cliff and this is my wife, Kristin. Are you the one responsible for the end of our hell?”

A Were rushes forward with two pitchers of water and another hands a cup to each of the shrunken alphas. Dria hesitates in answering, letting the two drink their fill before continuing the conversation.

The scent drifting up from the water tells me it contains the same additives that healed me after I was drained by Cecil and his fellow addicts. I doubt one pitcher will bring these two back to anything close to resembling good health, but it’s a start in the right direction.

The sound of tires on gravel drifts to us from the side of the mansion, pulling the rag tag group of victim’s attention toward the noise. The tension spilling off a few of them has me stepping forward to reassure them. “It’s not another vampire. The new arrival is a human here to help.” I motion toward Dria. “Just like she is.”

Cliff and Kristin manage to stand after drinking the entire pitcher, the proud bearing of their former leadership shining through the dirt and grime. Kristin steps forward first, her right hand extended in gratitude toward the vampire. “Thank you.”

Dria steps back deferring the credit to me with a wave of her arm. “I never would have come if it wasn’t for Jon. He’s the one you need to thank.”

Cliff steps up next to his wife. “From what the other Weres have reported, it’s your strength and... skill, that saved us.”

Dria looks uncomfortable at the gratitude and steers the conversation in another direction. “Cliff, we need to talk about your wolves.”

The tall, thin man looks around at his tattered pack of skinny werewolves. “Yes? What about them?”

Rafe’s approach from behind draws her focus away for a moment. The couple stares intently at one another for a moment, and then Rafe nods sharply. More of that silent communication I suspect is happening between the two, I bet. I’d like to know what the hell they were discussing.

Kristin speaks up, brushing her wildly unkempt and dirty hair from her eyes. “Is there something you wanted to say…Miss…?

Dria returns her attention to the alphas. “Please, call me Dria.” She gestures toward the building behind the group, where the couple had been imprisoned for five long years. “Can we talk inside? It will be safer.”

“Safer?” Cliff asks. “What more can happen to us?”

“My husband is here to set a fire in the mansion, to wipe out every trace of the vampire remains inside. We won’t light it until the pack is gone, but I need to work with the survivors and my task will take time—and solitude.”

Cliff glances to his wife, confusion and uncertainty marring both of their faces. After a brief moment they both nod. “You’ve proven your trust so far,” he says. “We’ll hear you out.”

They turn as one, the group nearby parting to allow them passage, and the four of us make our way into the low, long building. Kristin’s shoulders shudder when she crosses the threshold, but she keeps going, head held high.

There’s a grouping of old furniture just past the entryway. We stand in the middle, all of us looking to the vampire to see what she has to say.

Dria’s voice softens, the soothing tone cascading over my skin like a balm on a burn. “Your wolves’ minds have been damaged by the extreme control Cecil held over them for so long.”

Kristin’s face crumbles and tears trickle down her face. She refuses to hide her pain and meets Dria’s stare head-on. “Are you suggesting their minds will never heal? That they will remain like this—shadows of themselves—for the rest of their lives?”

The redhead nods. “Yes. That is my fear. But, I can help them.”

“How?” Cliff asks, disbelief and weariness prominent in his voice.

“I can fix the worst of his mind meddling, but it will take me time to repair so many. Perhaps almost an hour per person.” She looks out the small window near the door, her face pinching with worry. “But…”

“Yes?”

“I won’t be able to completely erase their memories for so long of a time frame. I might be able to… conceal… the worst of the atrocities done to them—but not all of it. Not without a lot more time than we have and a plausible cover story you’d want me to insert.”

A harsh bark of sound rips from the concerned man. “Cover story? There is nothing we could contrive to explain this horrendous imprisonment.” He hangs his head in frustration. “If I could go back in time and volunteer my life to save theirs, I would, without a second thought… but we’re way past wishful thinking and have been for a very long time.”

Mistrust colors the gaze of his crying wife. “Can we trust her?” she asks, turning her imploring eyes to me, obviously uncaring of voicing her concerns in front of Dria. “Why would she help us?” She looks to Dria, her moist gaze holding a fierce resolve. “We don’t know you. Vampires have never helped our kind before.”

Dria stands and moves to the window, gazing at the lost souls standing near one another for comfort. “That’s not entirely true. Vampires have stepped in to help other supernatural species in the past.” She shrugs, as if our discussing her morality doesn’t affect her. “Unfortunately, many more of us have stepped in to abuse them as well. I don’t blame you for being wary.”

The urge to do something wells inside me, and before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying, the words tumble out. “I vouch for her.” Three heads whip around to stare at me. “She won’t harm your wolves, or you. I swear it on my life.”

Silence fills the small space for the span of a few heartbeats. Dria’s expression holds one of surprise while the alpha’s holds confusion.

“And why would your word matter?” Cliff asks. “This is the first time I’ve met you.”

“Because I volunteered to be her vampire servant and I can read her mind through our bond.” The lie spills out between us, Dria’s eyes narrow at my blatant fabrication. Hell, there’s no way they would know I’m not truly bonded to her yet, or what that bond may or may not share. At the couple’s shocked expression I add, “Yeah, that’s right. I volunteered my life to her—to save your pack. If you don’t trust her, trust me. I stand by my words—she holds no ill will or plans to deceive you in her thoughts.”

Cliff nods once and stands, extending his hand to me. I rise and clasp his skeletal hand in my own. “From one alpha to another. I will put my faith in you.” He glances in Dria’s direction. “And that means in her, too.”

Dria walks to the couch and takes a seat. “Good. Glad that’s cleared up. This is going to take a while.” She looks to Kristin. “Can you bring the first Were in and I’ll get started? You’re all welcome to stay and watch, as long as you’re quiet.”

The hours tick by slowly, and the sun rises while she works. To everyone’s surprise, the sun doesn’t slow her down. Dria’s pace is relentless. One after another she sits with each wolf, holding their hand in silence while she repairs the holes Cecil’s forced compulsions created. She explained that she’s slipping into their minds, the physical contact making it easier, and re-knitting the very fabric of their consciousness to make the savaged Weres whole again.

Rafe and the healed Weres have been busy while she works, removing anything of value from the house—including the car keys of all the vampires who drove here and the numerous stacks of cash locked away in Cecil’s safe. Five years is a long time to be missing, and the group has no residences to go home to. The money will at least support them while the pack gets healthy and tries to pick up the pieces of their lives.

By the time Dria works on the tenth Were I visibly see her strength waning. None of the wolves here are strong enough to donate blood, so I step forward. Unsure how to proceed, I bare my wrist to her.

“Here, it looks like you need sustenance to continue.”

Hunger lights her gaze, drawing her need closer to the surface. She shakes her head and tears her eyes from my pulsing wrist. “No. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. I can see you’re getting tired, Dria. Why won’t you drink from me?”

Anger replaces her obvious want and she lashes out, her voice sharp as a whip. “I am the master here. You don’t tell me what I
need
.” Her green gaze locks on mine as she issues a command I’m compelled to follow. “Leave us, wolfman. Check on Rafe.”

Unable to resist her command, I walk slowly to the door. On the threshold I turn to her, biting out my words, “I
will
come back to check on you. Make no doubt about that.”

She ignores me, her attention solely focused on the Were seated next to her.

I stride toward the mansion, shaking my head in frustration. Damn, that woman is stubborn. How good is her control that she can continue what she’s doing and not attack the weres in hunger?

Rafe’s deep voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Did she finally kick you out?” He smiles. “You lasted in there a lot longer than I would have guessed.”

“Why? It’s not like she needed me. She just ignored me most of the time.”

He rubs a dusty hand over his hair, resting it on the back of his neck in exhaustion. “She doesn’t normally let people watch what she does.” He nods toward the building. “I wouldn’t doubt she’ll alter the alphas perception of exactly what they witnessed when she’s done. Not the kind of thing she likes to get out.”

“What kind of
thing
do you mean? That she helped people? Why would she want that to be a secret?”

He heads toward a nearby tree on the lawn and lowers himself to the ground, resting against the trunk. I follow, but remain standing, the energy coiling inside me from the vampire heart still fueling me, pushing me to act, urging me to
do
something.

“Vampire society is complicated, Jon. Her compassion could be viewed as a weakness and used against her by an enemy.”

“Man, that’s fucked up.”

He nods, his head drifting to the bark in exhaustion. “You have no idea.”

I look across the grass at the freed Weres wondering what will happen to them. “What’s next? What will we do after Dria finishes?”

“We see the wolves off safely. I called ahead and booked five more rooms at our hotel. They can drive the liberated vampire cars and any valuables they find to the hotel. After that, it’s up to them. Their alphas need to be the ones to direct their future, not us.”

His words make sense, but I still have this feeling of foreboding inside me. “What about the fire you plan to light? We don’t want it spreading to the woods.”

He raises his head, bright blue eyes locking on me. “I soaked the surrounding trees with water from a hose, and the lawn. The fire will be controlled and called in. We just want everyone out of here first.”

I pace, the uneasiness in me spreading. “Yeah, yeah, that all sounds good. But what about
us
? What happens with the three of us? Where do you two live? Do I move there with you?”

“Things will unfold as intended.” His gaze loses focus for a moment, like his mind is elsewhere, then sharpens when he glances toward me. “We’ll talk more. When she’s sleeping.”

“So she does sleep, eh? I wondered. What with the sun being out and she’s still wandering around.”

“I told you before. She’s very old. Doesn’t need much blood or much sleep. But the sun of high noon could still kill her if she sat in it long enough.” He pushes himself up, tiredness drawing down his large frame. “I know my wife. She’s going to need blood very soon, and her body will force a restorative sleep on her whether she wants it or not.”

“I offered her my blood. She refused.”

His spine straightens at my words. “Dammit. She refused you? I worried she’d get a pang of consciousness.”

“What does that mean?”

He shakes his head, refusing to elaborate more. “We’ll talk later—like I said, when she’s sleeping. Let’s get the wolves into the cars and out of here.”

By nine a.m. Dria is done. All the pack-owned vehicles, like Raine’s, and the visiting vampire’s luxury cars leave the property. The wolves will travel to the hotel where food and warm beds await them. One of them gathered as much of the special herbs as they could find, with plans of having everyone drink their fill of the healing concoction later.

Dria’s exhaustion is apparent to anyone paying attention. She walks a little slower and doesn’t glance our way as she staggers to the rented Benz. Without a word, she opens the back door and crawls inside, lying in the shadowed interior. Rafe and I check the accelerant placements carefully, making sure the headless remains are well covered for maximum temperature and destruction.

“Won’t the firemen find their decapitated skeletons when they send in a fire investigator?”

“Nope,” Rafe says. “Once the sun hits their bones, the remains will turn to dust.”

“Why not just drag their bodies out to burn and save the house?”

“Too much evil has been done in that house.”

A snort of disbelief comes from me. Does this guy really believe all that crap?

He looks at me sideways. “You think I’m joking. No amount of cleansing could save it and whoever lived in it afterwards would suffer.”

“Seriously? That sounds like bullshit to me.”

“Think what you want, furball. I’ve seen it in the past. It’s best to burn it and hope the next structure built here doesn’t occupy the same space. Just as good feelings can permeate the atmosphere of holy structures and scared spaces, same can be said about places were great evil has occurred.”

“Whatever, man.”

“Come on—surely you must be open to some kind of belief. After all, if you’d been told werewolves and vampires were real before your attack you never would have believed it, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Same thing applies here. Witches and witchcraft, wizards and fae, demons and even more shapeshifting creatures from various mythology than you ever guessed, all roam this earth—why not good and evil?”

“I never thought about it too closely.” An uncomfortableness settles inside me. “Are those things true? Do all those… species really exist?”

“Yup. Humans have never been the top predator. We just liked to think we are.” Rafe tosses me the lighter and strides to the rented car.

“That’s a depressing eye opener, man. Uh… thanks.”

The taller man opens the car door and addresses me over the roof of the car. “It is what it is, Jon. Best you get used to the idea. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

I strike the lighter, the flame dancing in the fresh morning air of late spring. “Yeah. See you there.” I let the flame die as the couple drives away.

As discussed, I’m going to light the blaze, make sure it takes where we need it and then put in a call to the firefighters. My cover story is going to be that I was driving alone on the isolated road when I saw the smoke. Staying here ’til I hear the sirens approach will ensure the fire doesn’t spread to the woods before they arrive.

I head back to the front door of the mansion, regret washing through me at the loss of such a beautiful home. I flick the lighter on and off in my nervousness, twining through the house to light the spots Rafe indicated earlier.

A part of me desires to visit the room upstairs one last time… the room were Raine died. But I resist. The brutality of that moment is not how I want to recall the slim young wolf. I light the accelerants as instructed and hightail it out the back door. Fires don’t run as rampant through a structure this large as one might think. All the doors on every floor are open to allow good air flow, but it still takes quite a while for the fire to reach the second floor.

Once it looks exactly as Rafe described, I call 9-1-1. “I’d like to report a fire.”

I knock on the couple’s hotel room door two hours later. I stopped off at my room first to eat, shower, and change clothes. I had to scrub three times to get the scent of the fire off of me. I debated on waiting until Rafe or Dria called me, but I have too many unanswered questions tumbling in my head.

Why did she refuse my blood when I offered? Why did Rafe want to talk to me privately when Dria was sleeping? Do the two speak with some kind of telepathy? That’s got to be it, right? What else could those penetrating looks they exchange mean?

Rafe answers the door and stands aside, waving me in. He looks tired and drawn, but determined, too. “Did you eat or should I order food?”

“I’m good, thanks.” I settle on the small couch and wait for Rafe to take a chair across from me. “Where’s Dria?”

He motions with his head toward a bedroom door. “She’s still sleeping. Be out for a few more hours I bet.”

I nod, unsure of how to approach him with the questions swirling around in my mind. Straightforward might work best. I clear my throat. “So… do you two speak in each other’s minds?”

“Yes, we do. It’s part of the mate bond we entered fifty-eight years ago.”

I cough, choking on my own spit in astonishment. “Holy shit,” I say when my voice clears. “Did you say fifty-eight years ago?” Rafe smiles and nods. “How freaking old are you, man?”

“I was past thirty when she finally agreed to bond with me.”

“Damn, you look good for your age, you old fart.”

“Ha-ha. Funny. Not.”

“Oh, look at you, using modern phrases and everything.”

Rafe shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Laugh all you want, furball. A supernatural’s ability to blend in will be what ultimately saves him or her from discovery.”

“Look and sound like an ignorant sap and no one will notice you?”

“Something like that.”

“Why did you want me to come here when she was sleeping? I got the impression you two share everything.”

He looks toward the window, the bright sun creeps higher in the sky, approaching its zenith. “We do communicate frequently when we’re awake, but we don’t always have the same opinions on everything. We are still individuals no matter how tightly we’re bound to each other.”

“Are you telling me this so I’ll understand what it’s like when I bond with her and become her servant?”

“No,” he rubs a hand over his face and lets out a deep sigh. “I’m telling you this because I know she plans to refuse your offer.”

I sit up and lean toward him. “What do you mean by ‘refuse my offer’? She already fulfilled her end of the bargain. I’m ready to live up to mine.”

“She won’t take you on as her servant because in the end, helping you was the right thing to do. Having you indebted to her for life to save the Weres doesn’t sit right with her.”

A cold settles in the pit of my stomach. Things were so much easier when I knew what I was getting myself into. I have a feeling this is the part he meant when they don’t always share the same opinions. “But you feel differently, don’t you?”

Rafe gets up and grabs a beer from the mini-bar. “Want one?”

I shrug. “What the hell. I don’t have a job anymore. Might as well.”

He tosses me a cold bottle and sits. “What was your impression of Dria today, when you saw her working on those Weres?”

“She was strong, determined, and tireless. She forged ahead with each person, never stopping to think of herself or the consequences of draining her strength too much. She proved to be a much better vampire than any of those pathetic creatures she killed.”

“My wife is
not just a better vampire, or simply a strong woman, she is desperately trying to hold onto her humanity with both hands, loving me with every ounce of her being to save the goodness within her, the goodness that was hidden deep for many years.” He takes a long pull of his beer. “She needs me... and whether I like it or not, I think she needs you as well.”

 “Why me? Just for my werewolf blood?” A tiny part of me wants to ask why he doesn’t like the idea of her needing me, but I wisely keep my mouth shut. Might humble me if my wife needed another guy, too, for any reason.

“Why do you think vampires crave an alpha’s blood over another Were?” he asks.

“That’s pretty obvious. We’re more powerful.”

“Yes, but it’s much more than that. You
make
them more powerful, too.”

Confusion wrinkles my brow. “I get that, that’s why I offered to be her servant in the first place.”

“Jon, that’s not what I mean. You are strong enough to help her hold onto her humanity
with
me. She will be forced to look outside herself, and us, to see to
your
needs, being sure to never use or abuse you. Taking you on as her vampire servant will make her more compassionate and remind her of what it means to be human.”

“Even though I’m not human anymore?”

“Yeah, furball, even then.”

“So if she doesn’t want me, what am I to do?”

A steely edge creeps into his eyes. “You plan to fulfill your pledge, right?”

I look around the room and gesture widely with my beer. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

His face sets is a cold and unforgiving mask. “A man with honor follows his word willingly, not begrudgingly.”

I look away from his penetrating stare. God, he’s kind of creepy all on his own when he wants to be. “Alright,” I say on a sigh. “You made your point.”

“Be sure, Jon. There’s no turning back. Do you want to serve a creature who walks the edge of darkness, clings to humanity by a thread, and will kill in the blink of an eye—or will you flee into the sun while she sleeps?”

Rafe’s words give me pause. The only leader I had a lot of exposure to was Romeo. He did a fair job with the pack, but even he wouldn’t put his neck on the line to save his own kind—something Dria did wholeheartedly once she agreed to help.