Clove : Book 4 of Lord Emperor Vampire Series

(This is the revised chapter 3. Hmmm, I’m not really happy with it, but I will let it stand for now.)

I'm really not happy with it. sooooo Revised, revised chapter 3 - July 24, 2007
I want everybody happy and it’s just not working and inspiration is hitting me out of sequence. So…damn, no vampire bunnies again.


Chapter 144: Freedom

I killed him. I wished him dead. I willed him dead. And now he was dead. He was free. Why wasn’t I dead? Didn’t I try hard enough? Didn’t I finally deserve it? For every sin I’ve committed in the name of Orel Wessel, didn’t I deserve to die?

I guess not.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I was on a dark grey concrete floor. It must be time for a burn. No surprise there. I swallowed. Wait. I reached up and touched my neck. The submission collar was gone.

I was dead. I had to be. They had told me enough times that the end of my worthless life would be the only way the submission collar would come off. I rolled on my back and began to laugh. I was free. I knew they’d kill me. Eventually. I curled in on myself touching my forehead to my knees. My laughter turned to tears. I was free. No more killing, or shots or all that other horrible stuff. Just…no more of anything.

If I was dead…

If I was dead then why was I in a bunker? Was this my purgatory? I was sentenced to burn in the hell of my own making? You can’t do what I did without consequences. What I can remember is bad enough. What I did before the sterile white medical table was still on my soul. I would be judged for that too. Damn.

I don’t know how long I laid on the floor just staring across the floor. There were seven pieces of dust, gravel debris in my line of vision from my position to the far wall. I didn’t want to move.

Kevin. At least I knew Kevin was free. Those eyes were lifeless. I reached down and cradled my stomach. He missed his kill shot. I am glad about that. He was a gentle soul. He didn’t have that killer instinct that all Vampire need to survive. He should never have been made. His sire should have recognized that. To be made…to be birthed just because of your looks, is so…fucked up. Whoever the hell made me…they knew what they were doing. I killed so many…and that was without having to eat them.

My head hurt. That was another reason I was on the floor. No, that was the main reason I was laying still. I think the submission collar was like shock therapy but it seemed like anything I had remembered was messed up. I had two other points of view. I blinked slowly, I didn’t know what that meant. But the numbness I had insulated myself in for the past month was wearing off.

I was scared.

I hated Orel Wessel but I knew what to expect from them. That dark brown Vampire…I thought I had a name for him. I called him something. My brain was like cotton candy that had been dropped in the dirt of a carnival ground -- sticky and dirty. He kept me from following Kevin. Since when did Vampires and Lycans work together? That was a Lycan…that boy with the golden eyes. He held my face and called me….I forgot. I closed my eyes as tears began to sting. My head hurt so much. Memories were there. I could feel them knocking at a glass wall but when I went to reach for them, they fluttered away. It was like being a one eyed butterfly hunter. Every time I went to swoop up something, I brought my net down three feet away from it and fluttered away on an unseen breeze.. I sniffled.

I was scared. If I was scared, I wanted to live. Even after all this.

I could feel vibrations through the floor of someone approaching. I tensed my body while keeping my position on the floor. I got away from Orel Wessel. Did I want to be a prisoner of this Lycan Vampire faction? No.

I was naked and weaponless. No…I had my fangs. And I had surprise. I did a quick visual sweep around the room of what I could see. I didn’t hear that constant hum of the cameras. I had gotten used to it. It was strange to have it gone. Yes, I had surprise.
I pushed myself off the concrete and shoved my hair back out of my face. There was a crack in the wall about the standard size of a door. It looked like it swung back. I couldn’t tell which way so I set myself down in a tackle’s position in front of it. My memories were fuzzy but I would work on instinct.

There was a low grumbling as the door was pulled open. I could take three max by surprise. If there were more than that it would get messy.

It was a man in black. I slammed into him as hard as I could and shoved him away from me. He hit the opposite wall with a dull thud and hung there for a second before he did a cartoon slide to his ass. I shifted and spun bringing my arm up in a hammer fist. His partner got my blow in his temple and I thought I felt his face deform. I think I broke his eye socket. He grabbed at my shoulder. I brought my knee up into his kidneys and rode him to the ground. I slammed his face down on the concrete twice before he stopped moving. Two. I looked over at downed man in black number one. He was out like a light bulb. There were a pair of underwear, jeans and a t-shirt laying there. Hmmmm. I glanced up the corridor and grabbed at the clothes.

I got dressed quickly then searched the captors. Nothing. No guns, no knives, no radios, now wallets. What the hell? Fine. I was used to doing things the hard way. I crab walked along the corridor. It lead to a set of stairs and at the top of the stairs was an elaborate carpet. This definitively wasn’t Orel Wessel. There was a crystal vase on the table full of flowers. If I smashed it, I would have some sort of cutting edge but then it would alert others. I cautiously made my way down the hall. There were no windows. Which made sense for a Vampires house.

I clung to the wall and continued forward. Freedom. Freedom was my ultimate goal. Be it outside in the sun dying, following Kevin into the after, afterlife, or running into the night to be a lone wolf. I could almost taste it.

My stomach growled. Loudly. I pressed a hand uselessly to it.

“Sir!” Another man in black came around the corner. His partner wasn’t far behind. And another.

I turned and bolted up the corridor away from them. Doors whipped past me as I ran. I found an exit door and shoved through it. I could hear steps running up the stairwell. Damn it. There was no way to block to door. I grabbed the railing and hauled my sorry ass up the stairwell. Crap, crap crap.

I was weak. My legs didn’t want to work. I forced myself up flight after flight. Then I heard the men in black vampires start coming down from above. I got to a floor and the fire door opened. I ran into it full tilt. The Vampire wasn’t ready for it. He got slammed back into the corridor and I jumped out kicking at his face. I connected, but somewhat off center. His head went smuck on the carpet and he quit moving.

I pivoted and searched the walls There was nothing to bar to door. I came back grabbed the long perpendicular handle and wrenched it to the side until half of it was over the door sill. It wasn’t much of a deterrent but it would slow them down a bit. A little bit could mean a lot. I motored to the end of the corner then slowed and pressed up against the wall. The corridor ended in a “T” I glanced out.

It was empty and…yes, there was an elevator ending the hall on the left. I jumped forward and hustled to it. I could hear the slams of bodies against the blocked fire door. I pushed the button and turned and waited in pure agony. I had no idea were the hell I was but even these empty halls were absolutely screaming money.

The elevator went ding. I brought my hands up in case there was more Vampire. The car was empty. I jumped in just as I heard steps rounding the “T” junction. I blindly stabbed at the top button. The doors slid closed as about six men in black suits turned toward me. I pressed myself back aside the side wall.

The lights on the control panel were dark except for the one I pressed. PH Penthouse. I pressed at another floor. It didn’t light up. The indicator light up past the floor I pressed. Shit. I stabbed at another button. The car went by the floor. I turned and noticed the security camera up in the corner. I reached up and ripped it out of the wall. I was trapped. Maybe they didn’t know I was on the express route to hell. Wait. Penthouse. If I could get to the roof, I could fly out of here.

Yeah. That could work. Relax…breathe. Breathe. Tide goes in, tide goes out. I shook my hands and shifted my weight from foot to foot. I just had to get to the roof. Usually a building doesn’t have the access stairs to the floor off from the main stairwell. I just had to get to the “T’ and trace my way back. The elevator slowed and went ding. The doors opened and I just stood there dumbfounded. The whole marble foyer was bathed in sunlight.

I was going to die.

The door began to close. I shoved my arm out and it slid back again. Freedom. So be it. I jumped out into the sunlight and took off running toward the junction. The sapping weakness I expected didn’t pull at me. I twisted around the bend and got tackled. “ALPHA!” I rolled with it and caught the smaller body beneath me. Gold eyes started up at me. It was that Lycan from the roof top. I raised my fist.

“Xavier!”

I turned at the sharp cry. It was the black haired goddess. She stood in a tailored skirt and blouse with fashionable chunky heels. The Lycan didn’t move. “Alpha.”

Men in black came around the corridor. I heard the dreaded whine of tazer’s ramping up. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was close enough that I could use her for a shield. A side door opened and a couple of other Lycan’s came into the hall. Females. They spied me and shifted into wolves and took up a defensive position in front of the female vampire.

“Edward?”

Crap.

“Alpha…please.”

Shut up. Shut up. I shoved my way off the downed Lycan and took off past the belt of sunlight. I’d take out a window if I had to. There was a large one at the corner of this corridor. I gritted my teeth and pumped my legs harder toward it.

The brown Vampire came around the corner looking down at a file he was reading but glanced up. The papers dropped out of his hands as he saw me. Those chocolate brown eyes flared to red. Oh, shit.

I forced myself through the closest door. I stepped on something and my feet shot out from under me. I hit the ground hard. I rolled and ended up my knees. Oh… A number of little faces stared at me. Then two adults moved into action. A Japanese woman grabbed at the two smaller girls dragging them to her. The taller man grabbed up a little white haired boy and blocked the woman. The other five kids jumped to their feet and took up a red rover line in front of the adults and smaller kids. I lifted my hand to them to show them that I meant no harm. I turned my gaze looking for another escape route.

“Daddy?”

I snapped my gaze around back to the little boy. “Daddy!”

He had white hair and really pale skin. His eyes were artic blue. A chorus of two more “Daddies” rose up from the Japanese woman’s hold. Two little girls with eyes the color of artic ice; one with red hair and freckles, the other with black hair but with a darker skin tone than the other two. They grinned at me showing their baby fangs. Vampire babies. I was frozen into inaction. “DADDY!”

How…how could I be a father? I fucked men. I got fucked by men. How could I have children? There were a number of growls and yips from the five children lined up in front of them. Lycan Pups? There was a wail of pure terror. And a human child. Where the hell was I?

“Lord Xavier.” The man called out to me. Werewolf. The scents were intermingling. Where was I? Why were Lycans, Humans and Vampires intermingling? Orel Wessel said that Bloods didn’t get along. That’s why they were formed. To keep the humans safe from the wars of the Bloods.

I scrambled to my feet. The five Lycan pups stood defensively in front of everyone. They didn’t even come up to my chest. Three girls and two boys. The door to the kresh jerked open and the black haired woman rushed in. The golden eyed Lycan ran in and took up point. The pups broke ranks and huddled around him. He growled lowly. Sending them comfort.

Where was I?

“Daddy?”

Where was I?

I staggered to my feet and backed away. I couldn’t remember them. I had children and I couldn’t remember them.

“Mommy!”

The little girls reached for the black haired woman. That’s were the arctic blue eyes came from. I stared across at her. Nothing. There wasn’t even a spark of familiarity.
“LEX!” The little white haired boy broke free and ran at me. He threw himself at my legs.

“Daddy!” He clung to my knees. He tipped his head back and stared up at me. He reached up and tugged on my strands of extra long hair, pulling it forward looking at the color. He let go and pulled at his own hair. We were a miss sized bookend. The little baby vampire was just as pale as me. His hair was the same shade. He dropped our hair then lifted his arms up to me.

“LEX!” The black haired woman’s voice was frantic.

“Pick me up.” The innocence of youth. He flashed me baby fangs and moved his fingers back and forth waiting for me to give in to his demand.

I had a son…I looked up over at the other two little girls. I had a son and two daughters. Triplets. I felt a kick in my chest. I…had…nothing. My head erupted in a shaft of pain. I grabbed at my temples.

“Xavier!” The voice boomed from the doorway. The big brown Vampire was there. I backed away from the little boy. “Lex, go to your mother.”

“But…”

“NOW!” His little face screwed and he began to cry but he turned and ran back to his sisters.

It felt like my head was in a vise that just kept getting tighter and tighter. A low moan of pain eeked out of my lips. I back up until I hit another wall.

The kids and their nannies got ushered out of the room. More wolves and Vampires piled in. The pain dropped me to my knees. My hair fell all around me. I didn’t even recall their mother’s face. No…not true. Arctic blue eyes. My lower back was on fire. I can’t burn here. I still had to get out of here.

“Xavier…”

I shook my head. Mistake. My wings came out. I had to get out of here. I winced as I looked up and narrowed my eyes. I let my mutant flame burn. None of them backed up. Not one of them. Lycan, Vampires. “I got to go.”

“We finally have you home.”

“I have to go.”

“Alpha…” There was another shaft of pain in my skull. I staggered sideways my wings were the only thing that kept me from crashing to the ground. I hit another wall and ripped paper off it. I looked down at the childish drawing. There were the red, the black and the white haired children but what killed me was that there was that black haired woman, a big hulking brown haired brute, another black haired man and a white haired white winged angel up above them all. Daddy was spelled wrong. Daddy watches us.

“Little One.”

I pressed the drawing to my chest. Lies. I believed lies. I couldn’t take a deep breath it felt like there was a huge band around my chest. I thought the pain of the submission collar was bad but this….this was devastating. I stroked the picture uncrinkling the edges I had torn.

I felt a physical binding drop on me. NO. I opened my mouth and roared my pain and betrayal. I threw off the binding and I moved fast. Faster than they expected. I made to the door before one of the men in black even touched me. My wing flicked him back off me. I turned toward the bright window. Humans…They stood in a gaggle at the window a look of hope and fear on their face. I pivoted and tore back toward the elevators and the stairwell. My wings were up and slightly out behind me.

My head was in agony and the drawing was now crunched in my hand but I wasn’t going to let it go. I wasn’t going to let anything go again. There was a ding. I kicked it up a notch then tried to back peddle as the black haired vampire I winged the night before walked out of the doors. My wings flapped backwards.

He dropped the briefcase he was carrying and…wings as black as night ripped out of his back and filled the corridor. They were bigger than mine. He was bigger than me. I hit the ground and slid along the tile sliding into his legs. He reached down and grabbed at my shoulders. I batted at him with my wings and tried to back up.

“Son…son…”

What?

I stilled for a moment and he caught my face with both his hands. I looked him in the eyes…those arctic blue eyes that could just seep your soul out of your body. He searched my eyes for something, “You are my son. My cherished younger son.”

“Father?”

“Yes, Xavier…among other things.”

I got a flash of light and I grabbed my head. He stood in front of me his black wings wide. His eyes were cold and hard. “Swear to me now, Xavier, or get out of my sight” I heard those words as if he just spoke to me right now.

“…get out of my sight…” I whispered back to him, staring into those beautiful eyes. I got the pain that came with those words. “…get out of my sight…”

“Xavier.”

I hardened my gaze. “That’s not my name.” I wrenched my head back and kicked at his ankle. He dropped to one knee as I turned on my ass and tried to scramble away. The Brown Vampire dropped on my shoulders, pinning me to the tile. The black haired one, ended up sitting on my hips. My wings were crushed painfully beneath me.

“Heal him, Father.”

The brown haired Vampire was my brother? I brought my knee up and slammed it hard up into Father’s kidneys. He grunted and his eyes flash fired blue. I stilled. He had my flame. He had my wings and he had my flame.

“This will hurt, my Fallen Angel.”

“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” He visibly flinched.

“At least we know your memories are returning, Fallen. We just have to hurry them along. For everyone’s sake.” He took my face in both his hands and then everything turned into blue flames. My world was on fire. My body was on fire. My veins were burning from the inside out.

I arched up as the pain ripped through me. My voice broke into a roar as my head was wrapped in bright blue light and flame. I felt Armor push my shoulders down to the tile. He hunched over me, pressing his lips close to my ear. “It will be all right, Little One. You will be fine. You are home. You are finally home.”

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