Quinn's Undying Rose (Scanguards Vampires #6), page 26
“Oh, God!” Rose said. “Keegan is using mind control on Thomas. We have to help him.”
Quinn pulled his silver knife from its sheath. He might be a lousy shot, but his knife always found its target. It wouldn’t kill Keegan instantly, but a well-placed knife wound would disable him sufficiently so he could finish him off with a stake. As he aimed at Keegan, he flicked his wrist, sending the deadly instrument toward him. But Keegan’s head turned suddenly, and a blast of energy struck the knife, reversing its path. He’d never seen anything like it before.
“Shit!”
Quinn jumped, grabbed Rose and sent them both tumbling to the floor, covering her with his body.
Breathing hard, Rose stared at him, stunned. “How are we gonna help him now?”
Before he could answer, a scream coming from outside, made Quinn jerk up.
He exchanged a brief look with Rose.
“Blake!” they said in unison.
36
Blake had landed on a balcony on the second floor. Oddly enough, he hadn’t fallen too hard—a mattress had cushioned his fall from the third floor. As if somebody had planned it that way. But he’d hit his head on the railing, and it had knocked him out briefly. Why he’d jumped in the first place, he had no idea. But the urge had suddenly overtaken him, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
Not that it mattered right now: he wasn’t any better off than in that room with Keegan and his vampire friends. Because one of those fucking vampires had just joined him on the balcony.
With extended fangs and claws instead of fingers, the menacing creature stalked toward him, his hulky body blocking the door to the room behind. Shrieks and screams from within the room accompanied his approach.
The vampire bared his fangs, pulling his mouth into an ugly grimace.
Fuck, he was so done with this crap!
“Fuck off!” he yelled.
The fear he’d previously felt when confronted with vampires, had made way for frustration. If only he were as strong and fast as them, he’d show those bloodsuckers where they could stick their fangs. He’d seen how fast they moved, and how strong they were, and hell, if he wasn’t a tiny bit envious of those skills. Okay, he could admit it: a lot.
However, that wouldn’t get him out of this situation right now.
Casting a quick glance down to the ground, he realized that jumping wouldn’t be wise. Metal debris lay on the ground beneath, and if he jumped, he would most likely be impaled by one of the spiky metal rods that stuck out from the hovel of junk.
“Gotcha, boy,” the vampire growled.
“Not yet,” Blake retorted, gripped the railing behind him and hoisted himself up, kicking his legs into the aggressor’s torso in the process.
The vampire tumbled back, but instantly caught himself, pushing away from the doorframe in the next instant. It appeared the attempt at tossing him on his ass had angered him, because his eyes now glared red.
The thug pulled a knife and charged him.
“Shit!”
Lunging to the left, Blake barely escaped him, but was now wedged against the corner of the balcony with nowhere else to go.
An evil grin swept over his opponent’s face as he took a step toward him. But he didn’t get far.
From above, somebody jumped onto the balcony, landing in front of the vampire. As Blake’s eyes adjusted, he recognized Rose. Her knee came up and kicked the bastard in the nuts before he could even react.
As Rose jumped to the side, avoiding the toppling vampire, Quinn landed right behind him. He too, had jumped from the third floor. A stake in his right hand, he lifted it and aimed, but the hostile vampire fell forward, his hand extended, still clutching the knife.
His eyes glared at Blake, who had nowhere else to go.
“Fuck you!” the vampire ground out.
In obvious agony, he drove his knife into Blake’s side. The piercing pain was paralyzing, so much so that he barely noticed how his attacker disintegrated into dust as Quinn staked him from behind.
Dizziness overwhelmed him and he swayed. His hand went to the wound, his look following in the same direction, pain radiating through his body.
Shit, he was going to die!
“Oh, God, no!” he heard Rose scream and catch him as he fell.
Her arms around him felt comforting, and for the first time since finding out about vampires, Blake felt oddly safe.
“Quinn, do something, he’s hurt!”
The panic in Rose’s voice was undeniable, and despite the pain he was in, Blake tried to put a smile on his lips. “You are really my grandmother, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am.”
Quinn crouched down next to her and examined the wound. When he pried Blake’s hand from it, Blake let out a helpless cry.
“I’m sorry, son, but I need to see how deep it is.”
His hands were gentler than he would have expected from a vampire, and Quinn made no attempt to drink the blood that was so freely oozing from the wound. Maybe not all vampires went crazy at the smell of human blood.
Rose stroked over his hair, diverting his attention from Quinn for a moment. When another bolt of pain racked his body, he closed his eyes, trying to breathe through the pain, but it didn’t go away.
“I’m dying, aren’t I?”
He looked at Rose who cast a scared glance at Quinn.
“You’ll have to turn me into a vampire too, so I won’t die, won’t you?” he asked. Well, if that was what needed to be done, he was ready for it. Rose and Quinn would take care of him. They were his family after all.
Quinn’s chuckle came utterly unexpected. “Turn you? Not a chance, Blake.”
Blake tried to sit up, but winced from the pain it caused him. “I’m dying. Forget what I said at the house. I was in shock from Oliver sucking on my neck. I’m better now. I know I can handle it.”
Quinn shook his head and exchanged a smile with Rose. “Blake, it’s a flesh wound. It’ll heal in no time. There’s no need to turn you.”
“Are you sure?”
Rose interrupted. “He’s sure. But,” she hesitated, “maybe we should give him some blood to ease the pain and speed up the healing process?”
She looked at Quinn who slowly nodded. “Agreed. No need for him to suffer needlessly.”
“What blood?” Blake asked. Were they going to give him a transfusion? Surely, the paramedics would take care of that.
Quinn brought his wrist to his mouth and elongated his fangs. Instantly Blake realized what he was about to do.
“Fuck no!” he shouted.
“It’ll help you heal faster,” Quinn claimed and lowered his mouth to his wrist, ready to bite into it.
“No!” Blake motioned his head toward Rose. “If I have to drink anybody’s blood, I want Rose’s.”
“No way!” Quinn protested, his eyes suddenly glaring red.
Rose put her hand on his arm to calm him. “Maybe just this once. He is our grandson, and we got him into this.”
A silent battle seemed to rage between the two as they stared at each other. Then finally, Quinn nodded and looked at him.
“This will be the first and last time you’ll ever drink Rose’s blood. And if I see you enjoying it, I’ll bash your brains out later. Do you get that?”
Blake nodded hastily. Why would he enjoy it? Blood tasted gross!
He watched with fascination as Rose pierced her own wrist with her fangs then set the open wound to his lips. When the first drops of her blood reached his taste buds, Blake jolted in surprise.
Shit, it tasted good!
Now he also knew why Quinn was so mad at him: he was jealous that Blake got to drink Rose’s blood.
37
As soon as Blake had stopped drinking from Rose and he had left them in the nearest room, Quinn rushed upstairs again, bumping into Eddie who came running up the stairs, followed by Cain.
“Did we miss the fight?” Eddie asked.
Quinn listened for any sounds from upstairs. It had gone quieter, but some fighting was still going on.
“Almost. Cain, stay with Rose and Blake.” He motioned to the room he’d just left. “Eddie, come with me.”
It was time to finish this. Quinn only hoped it wasn’t too late for Thomas. He and Rose had left Thomas only three minutes earlier, but in a battle of mind control, three minutes could be an eternity.
He hoped the others had defeated their opponents and were somehow able to help Thomas. But deep down he knew that he hoped for the impossible. Nobody could interfere in a fight of mind control without risking his own sanity and life.
Quinn burst through the door into the room just as Zane dealt a deadly blow with his knife, severing the head of his opponent, covering himself in a cloud of dust as the vampire disintegrated.
“Oh God no!” Eddie cried out when he entered the room, his eyes instantly falling on Thomas and the battle he was still locked into.
He rushed toward him, but Quinn was faster and pulled him back.
“We have to help him!”
“You can’t get between them. If you do, the energy that’s traveling between them will incinerate your mind,” Quinn warned.
“Then shoot the guy!” Eddie ordered, looking around the room for who had a gun.
Quinn looked at Thomas and Keegan, but they weren’t stationary anymore. They moved back and forth at varying speeds, circling each other like prize fighters in a ring.
“And risk killing Thomas?” Quinn shook his head.
“Then what are we gonna do? Don’t you see, he’s in pain.”
Eddie was right, Thomas’s face was contorted in pain, yet his body still held up. But for how long?
“I’ve got it,” Wesley’s voice suddenly came from behind them.
Quinn turned to him, but before he could inquire what Wesley meant, he ran past them, lifting his arm, swinging it, then throwing something. A small item, a bottle or something, flew through the air, then landed on the floor between the two fighters, where it smashed into pieces.
Blue smoke rose from the spilled liquid, making the air sizzle as if acid were burning through metal. Thomas instantly tumbled back, freed from the invisible hold Keegan had had on him.
Keegan too stumbled, but seemed less affected. His eyes instantly roamed the room. Realizing that only one of his associates was still alive and would soon be dead, he jumped to the bed where one of the human women had taken refuge.
He grabbed her amidst her high-pitched shrieks, dragged her against his body like a shield and made for the secondary door that led out of the room.
“One move, and she dies!” Keegan warned.
Thomas, lying on the floor, unable to lift himself, issued his own warning. “Next time you die, Kasper.”
“There will be no next time,” Keegan predicted instead, shaking his head.
“You’ve got that right,” Quinn murmured under his breath and pulled a knife from Eddie’s belt, having lost his own earlier in the fight.
He flicked his wrist. The weapon lodged in Keegan’s throat a split-second later. A surprised gurgle was Keegan’s response before he lost his hold on the panicked human. As the woman scrambled from him, stumbling to the floor in the process, Quinn pulled his stake from his pocket and lunged for him.
A gunshot stopped him. For a split-second he was in shock, but then he saw Keegan as he combusted, then disintegrated into dust. Quinn whirled his head around, trying to locate the shooter, when he found Rose standing in the door, still holding the handgun that had fired the deadly shot.
She smiled. “You were right. Small caliber works best.” She shrugged. “I borrowed it from Cain.”
Quinn returned her smile then let his eyes sweep over the room, confirming that all enemies were dead. Eddie was kneeling next to Thomas on the floor, helping him to a sitting position. Quinn rushed to him, crouching down.
“Thank God you’re all right.”
Thomas gave a tired nod. “I almost had him. Just a little longer, and I would have had him.” He dropped his head.
Quinn exchanged a silent look with Eddie, who shook his head, confirming that he too doubted Thomas’s statement.
“I’ve never seen anything like it . . .” He knew what he wanted to ask, but the condition Thomas was in, Quinn wasn’t sure he had the right to question him. It appeared he didn’t have to.
“His real name was Kasper. He was my sire.”
Shock spread on the faces of his colleagues as Thomas confirmed what Quinn had suspected from the heated exchange between the two, and the fact that Keegan had called him son.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn murmured.
Thomas lifted his head, an effort which seemed to cost him all his strength. Quinn watched how Eddie supported the weight of his torso to keep him sitting upright, allowing him to lean against him.
“I left him decades ago. I wanted nothing to do with him. He was evil to the core. And his mind control abilities were unparalleled . . . I carry his blood.”
Quinn guessed what Thomas was insinuating: he had inherited the same skill. And Quinn had seen it in action.
“He was your sire, yet you were prepared to kill him,” Quinn said, then his gaze involuntarily drifted to Rose who stood watching them just as his friends and colleagues did.
“Because he threatened my family. You all, you’re my family. He meant nothing to me.” Pure hatred colored Thomas’s voice. “And if I hadn’t been stopped, I would have killed him myself. It was my duty, not yours.”
As Thomas’s gaze fell on Wesley, Quinn put a calming hand on Thomas’s arm. “I’ll have a serious word with Wes about that.”
Thomas nodded.
Quinn rose. “We need to do damage control.” He looked at his colleagues. “Guests and employees will have heard the fighting. Let’s get to work.”
Then he turned to Eddie. “I trust you’ll get Thomas home?”
“Leave it to me.”
“I’ll take care of Vera,” Rose interjected, looking at him.
Quinn walked to where Rose was helping Vera, assisting her to sit on the sofa. Her arm hung limply from her shoulder.
“I’m Quinn. Thank you for helping Rose,” he offered.
She gave a quick smile then winced when she tried to lean back in the cushions. “We all owe her. When I got her message, I knew what I had to do.”
Quinn felt a stab in his chest. She had trusted her friend, but she hadn’t trusted him. Could he even blame her for it?
“You showed up just in time,” Vera added. “Lucky coincidence?”
“Not exactly.” He cast a glance at Rose. This wasn’t the time to talk to her about Keegan’s text message. He would have to wait for a private moment. “I’m assuming Keegan got mad when you didn’t give him the flash drive.”
“Oh, I gave him a flash drive, but an empty one.” Rose motioned to Vera. “Vera was so kind as to make sure there was one that looked identical to the real one. While Keegan was checking it, we had just enough time to get Blake out of the room and—”
“But not enough time to save yourselves,” Quinn interrupted.
“No.” Rose hesitated. “How did you find me?”
“We’ll talk about that later. First, I’ve got to take care of this mess here.”
Quinn turned, then looked at Wesley who was standing near the door. “A word.”
As soon as they reached the corridor, he turned to Wesley, who appeared apprehensive and immediately went on the defensive. “Hey, I only wanted to help.”
“I wanted to thank you,” Quinn interrupted.
Wesley looked at him, stunned.
“No matter what Thomas says, if you hadn’t broken their concentration, Thomas would have died. You saved his life.”
“I did?” He paused, then smiled. “I did.”
Quinn gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Now, what was that stuff?”
“Just something I’ve been working on. I found the recipe in Francine’s books. It’s supposed to paralyze a vampire.” He grinned sheepishly. “Guess it didn’t quite work that way, but hey, it worked out fine anyway, right?”
Quinn rolled his eyes. “No more using any untried potions, are we clear on that?”
A hopeful look spread over Wesley’s face. “You mean I can try them out on you guys first?”
“I didn’t say that! And no, you can’t.”
“Oh. But, if you want me to help you guys, you should support my research.”
Quinn exhaled. “Research?”
“Yeah. I mean, next time we get attacked by evil vampires, we should be prepared.”
“I think you should leave that up to us. And not a word of this to Thomas. He’s going to be pissed at you for a while anyway. No need to stir more shit up by telling anybody that you’re working on your witchcraft.”
“Fine.”
As he looked at Wesley, Quinn guessed that the last word had not yet been spoken on that subject.
38
By the time all human witnesses to the fight had had their memories wiped and the injured had been taken care of, it was almost daytime.
Blake’s injury had healed quickly, and he seemed to suddenly be all excited about the fact that he was related to two vampires.
“So, tell me more. What was it like to see history happen?” Blake asked Rose, his eyes wide.
She smiled. “You don’t think it’s history when you’re right in the middle of it. It becomes history later.”
“There you are.”
Rose turned to see Quinn enter the living room. Her heartbeat instantly spiked. They hadn’t had a single minute alone since the fight, and she yearned to feel his arms around her. But she also knew that she owned him something—the truth.
“Can we talk?” she asked him. “In private.”
“Of course.” Quinn smiled at his grandson. “Excuse us, Blake.”
As Quinn followed her out of the room and up the stairs, her body tensed. The moment they entered their bedroom, she turned to him.
“Now that Blake is safe, it’s time for the truth.”
