Die Pretty: Vampires of Blood and Bones Read online

  “Stands about five foot eight has dusty blonde hair, shorter on the sides and longer on top. Huge dark brown eyes that seem to add to his appearance of naïve innocence. He looks like Bambi for fuck sake.” Quincy described with a short laugh, and Robert joined him.

  “The Sheriff is worried about him.” Robert threw in. “He described him as a good kid who has never gotten into trouble.” Robert left out the sharp tool comment the Sheriff had made; it seemed rather derogatory.

  “From what I’ve observed, I would agree with the Sheriff in regard to his character, but we both know that in the end, we do what we have to do, doe eyes or not.” Quincy cut to the cruel bone, and Robert found himself strangely saddened by the prospect. Robert was about to comment when they saw movement outside the shed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Eddie grabbed a couple of flashlights from his truck and handed one to Joe. “This might take a while.” Joe nodded, and they started towards the road by way of the Northside of the property. They found the runaways quick enough and herded them back towards the pasture.

  “This fence looks like it was purposely cut,” Joe spoke as he held the wire in his hand. “It’s cut clean here, come take a look.” He spoke over his shoulder at Eddie, who was gathering up the last of the escapees and herding them back inside the pasture through the break in the fence.

  Eddie came over and looked at the wire. “Yeah, they were cut.” He shook his head. “I’ll have to report it to the Sheriff in the morning.” He said. “I don’t know if I can face that man again. You should have seen the pathetic expression he gave me when I told him vampires were in town, and they were after me.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have called them vampires.” Joe gave his opinion but without judgment.

  “Yeah, probably not, but it’s out there in the wind now, and the Sheriff thinks I’m a nut case. Sad, pathetic nut case to be specific.” Eddie couldn’t help but bark a laugh at his predicament, and Joe joined.

  “You’ll have to report this, though.” Joe reminded him. “Can’t let dangerous vandalism like this go unchecked. Other farms might have been hit too.” Eddie nodded but didn’t look forward to talking to Sheriff Korbin. He’d hoped to avoid that man for a few years after their last contact.

  “Let’s get this fixed and head back inside. The dark out here is making me uncomfortable.” Eddie didn’t want to say he was afraid of DuCane’s men attacking again because he didn’t want to upset Joe, but he was definitely afraid they would attack again.

  Joe was not much of a fighter, he tried, but he never fared very well. He and Joe had been friends since elementary school, and Eddie could always count on Joe to back him up in a fight. The only problem being, Joe was barely five feet three inches and weighed less than a feather. He wasn’t much of a threat to anyone, unfortunately, and his fighting skills were zero. But that never stopped Joe from jumping into the worst of battles and usually ending up in the emergency room.

  Eddie kept watching for anything suspicious as they wired the fence closed, which should secure it until morning. “That will do for now,” Eddie said as he tested to make sure their quick fix would hold. “I’ll bring my tools and fix it right in the morning once the sun is up, and I can see what I’m doing.” He took a quick look around having thought he heard something.

  “What’s wrong?” Joe asked, sounding a little concerned.

  Eddie turned and looked at him with his best, nothing to worry about expression. “Thought I heard something, but it was probably the cows. Come on, let’s get back inside and finish the movie.” He took Joe’s upper arm and started urging him to get moving.

  The sound he heard wasn’t made by any cow; he’d just said that to ease Joe’s mind. He’d lived around cows nearly his entire life, and no cow had ever made the sound he heard. It was the sound of a weapon being cocked, a shell sliding into a chamber, and he knew for certain none of his cows were armed.

  When he heard movement behind them, Eddie decided it was time to run. Hopefully, it was dark enough to hide them. “Move, Joe, move, someone behind us.” Thankfully, the urgency of his tone had Joe react, without question, as they raced to Eddie’s apartment.

  Eddie wasn’t sure what they would do once they got there since he had no weapons apart from a knife and a cast iron fry pan. He turned his head to the left to make sure Joe was keeping up when suddenly he slammed headlong into what felt like a solid wall. It knocked him back on his heels, but he was grabbed and set back to right before whoever it was, raced by him towards what was chasing them.

  “Who are they?” Joe panted breathlessly. His terror was evident. Eddie shook his head, having no clue as to who they were, where they came from, or why they were there. All he knew was that they appeared to be on their side. Eddie and Joe paused for a second and watched the two men, large and powerful take on their attackers. The battle was violent and extreme.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Eddie shouted and grabbed Joe’s arm, and they took off for his place.

  “Should we go to the farmhouse?” Joe asked. “Maybe your aunt and uncle can help.”

  Eddie snorted with disgusted. “They wouldn’t even answer the door. They’re no help, never have been.” They got to Eddie’s place and quickly started stacking things in front of the door.

  The absurdity of the act did not occur to either one of them. The two men that came to their aid were clearly DuCane people, and the attackers looked absolutely crazed. A few chairs and boxes were unlikely to keep out anyone and certainly not DuCane’s soldiers or the crazies that were after them. But it just seemed like the thing to do in Eddie’s opinion.

  When they put their backs to the door, hoping to hold the blockade in place, their eyes landed on the large window that filled the North wall of the kitchen. They looked at each other, and their stark panic filled the air.

  “Bathroom!” Eddie shouted, and they took off in that direction, but the large window burst inward with a deafening crash as they were passing. The force knocked them both to the floor, where they scrambled to get their footing before whatever it was tore them to pieces. Eddie dragged Joe behind the loveseat, and they crouched there while the battle that had been outside now raged on in Eddie’s little kitchenette.

  …

  An assignment that had begun as mundane, quickly took an abrupt turn into urgent, and then ran headlong into the unbelievable. Robert and Quincy ran at the aberrations that were bearing down on the two boys. The attackers were vampires but of a primitive sect known as the Caen.

  They hadn’t been heard from in centuries after being put down by Louis DuCane. They were a horrid bunch and had predilections similar to those of the Perrysburg Coven. They too used humans simply for food, but this sect was older and more sadistic in their practices than the group in Perrysburg.

  The boys were running towards them, but it was clear that they didn’t see him or Quincy in the dark and in their panic. The tall one slammed into him and would have fallen if Robert hadn’t caught him. He held him for a moment to steady him and took a quick look into those amazing, emotional brown eyes before going after the vampires.

  The experience spawned a sensation that gradually exploded through Robert. It left him with an all-encompassing compulsion to destroy the things that had dared to threaten that young man. He didn’t understand it, but he didn’t have time to analyze it.

  The Caen were coming full force with the single focus of capturing their prey. Once on a scent, they tended to be single-minded until the object was taken or destroyed. Robert hadn’t encountered one of these creatures himself, but such terrors always left an impression and a historical account. They could be identified by their shaved heads and a sun crossed tattoo above their left ear.

  The young men were running towards the shed out of direct danger, or so Robert thought. He and Quincy took out two of the Caen soldiers, but one got past them and was heading for the shed. They jumped him just as he threw himself through a plate-glass window, and all three of them
went airborne and landed in what appeared to be Eddie’s kitchen.

  Eddie and his friend dove behind a couch as he grabbed the vampire’s head, twisting it backward and tearing out his throat. He continued to hold him as Quincy punched through his chest and removed the heart. It was good practice to go for the throat and the heart if you wanted a vampire to stay dead.

  “I think that’s all of them,” Quincy stated as he stood up and adjusted his jacket and brushed off his pants although they were soaked through with blood as were Robert’s.

  “Yeah, there were three, but these creatures don’t give up, so there will be more,” Robert commented as he too stood and pushed the body aside.

  “They’re Caen, aren’t they?” Quincy asked.

  “Yes, they are.” Robert pointed out the tattoo on the side of the dead vampire’s head. Quincy took out his phone and snapped a picture and sent it to Silas. “But why the hell are they chasing those two boys?” Robert glanced over at the couch when the little one stood up first, and Eddie followed.

  “We are not boys.” The little one protested and indignantly rounded the side of the couch but stopped abruptly when he caught sight of the carnage on the kitchen floor. His eyes slowly rolled back in his head, and he was out. Eddie moved to catch his friend, but then, he too saw the dead vampire.

  “Oh, fuck me.” He slurred and joined his unconscious friend on the floor.

  Robert and Quincy just looked at one another and couldn’t help but smile. The innocence of these two young men, even in the face of so much violence and uncertainty, was rather charming.

  “While they’re out, it’ll give us a chance to clean this up,” Quincy said with a smile as he put in a call for cleanup assistance.

  “I don’t see a need to clear their minds. This is going to keep happening until we figure out why the Caen sect is after them. It will be better for them to remember the danger that they are in.” Robert said as he walked over to Eddie. The impression he got when first running into the man was still lingering and strong. He knelt down next to him and ran his fingers down the side of his face while taking in the amazing truth that lay before him.

  He scooped him up into his arms and carried him over to the tiny twin bed off in the corner of the room. On his way, he checked for any injuries from the events of the night. Eddie seemed fine just overwhelmed.

  “I’m going to take Joe home,” Quincy announced, and Robert saw that he already had Joe in his arms and was heading out. “I won’t clear his mind completely, but I will eliminate the vision of the blood and guts here in the kitchen. The little guy doesn’t need to live with that image in his head. You might want to do the same for Eddie.” He suggested.

  “I doubt it would be effective.” He said. “Eddie seems to be immune to our influence, remember.”

  “Be worth a try. I’d hate for him to have to live with this memory.” He added as he glanced around the blood-soaked room. “The cleaners should be here soon, so I’ll meet you back at the Palace.” Robert nodded, and Quincy was gone.

  Robert moved to sit beside Eddie on the little bed and reached over to take his hand holding and soaking in its warmth and beauty. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t told Quincy of his discovery. He just wanted to study the young beauty for a while without any explanations.

  Eddie Boone, the unsharpened tool who faints at the sight of blood, was his beloved. He laughed and leaned over to place a soft kiss to the back of Eddie’s hand. In Robert’s world, a man like Eddie was a true treasure.

  …

  Eddie opened his eyes and looked around as he sat up. Memories of last night hit him hard, and he found himself sucking in a harsh breath and anxiously looking around again. But his quarters looked normal, not at all destroyed and covered in blood as he remembered it. He stiffened and moved to the edge of the bed when he heard someone moving about in the other room.

  “Who’s there?” He asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to know. He waited and watched as a man so handsome and perfect that Eddie found his breath catching in his throat, stepped into the room, and stood before him. All he could do was stare; not a single word came to mind. This man was tall and muscled but also so cut and cultured that it hurt. Black hair, black eyes and a smile that was absolutely crippling.

  He reached his hand out to him, and Eddie mindlessly took it. The grip was firm but not showy; this guy had nothing to prove. “My name is Robert Alden, and I work for Louis DuCane.” He said, and Eddie found his heart sinking at the declaration and fear flaring where desire had been.

  “Are you going to kill me?” He asked as he pulled his hand away and tried to move further away, although, with his bed situated against a wall, there was no place to flee.

  “Why would I want to kill you?” Robert said and took a step closer and seated himself on the edge of Eddie’s bed.

  “You work for the Coven.” He said the word coven nearly in a whisper. He found he couldn’t hold Roberts penetrating gaze and so had to look away.

  “The things that attacked you and your friend were not of the Coven. Quincy and I killed them. You have nothing to fear from Coven DuCane.” Robert explained, keeping his tone casual and easy as if they were discussing the weather.

  “How did you clean it up so quick?” Eddie noticed that he had a new window in his kitchen, and the blood and the body were gone. He couldn’t believe that so much could have been completed in the few hours that he was unconscious.

  “We called in help.”

  “Like you did at the restaurant?”

  “Yes, sometimes we have to clean things up so our existence remains a secret and so the community can be spared unnecessary trauma. We’re not monsters, Eddie; we don’t hurt people.” Robert reached out again, and Eddie couldn’t help himself. He took the offered hand, and it gave him comfort, which was strange because he didn’t know Robert Alden. Although, the man did save Eddie’s life so that could be the source of the comfort that he felt at having Robert near.

  “Who are they, and why are they after me. They’ve come before, but I’ve gotten away. I didn’t think Joe and I were going to get away this time. Where’s Joe?” Eddie suddenly remembered his friend.

  “He’s okay, Quincy took him home.” Robert continued to hold his hand, gently messaging the back with his thumb. It was hypnotic and allowed Eddie to stay calm even though he wanted to throw his hands in the air and start screaming. It wouldn’t have been helpful or constructive, but the urge was definitely there.

  “Quincy is your friend?”

  “Yes. Your friend is safe with him, I promise.” Robert seemed so nice for being one of them. Eddie wanted to trust him, but after everything he’d seen, it was hard to let go of the paranoid feeling that something was up.

  Robert then got very serious and began to explain the creatures that had attacked him and Joe. “They are vampires; I think you knew that already.” Eddie nodded yes. “They’re part of a sect that hasn’t been seen in many years. They were put down and isolated to a small area in Northern France called Caen. Over the years, they have come to be referred to as the Caen, Caen vampires, or Caen soldiers. They’re a fanatical group, and many in the vampire world would like to see them eliminated completely, but the group possesses a mystical capability or power that so far has inhibited their extermination. It seems that for every one that is killed, there are more to take his place.”

  Eddie held Robert’s hand and listened to the most unbelievable story, and yet he knew in his bones that every word was true. This man was reaching places in Eddie’s awareness that no one had ever touched before. Robert was sensitive and honest and drop-dead sexy. Eddie wanted him to go on talking forever; the sound of Robert’s voice was exciting him and comforting him in equal measures.

  “We don’t know why they have targeted you, sweetheart.” Robert told him, and the endearment was not lost. Eddie found he liked it, and for all his suspicion regarding the DuCane people, he decided Robert could be trusted. He was just too damned attra
ctive to be a bad guy.

  His dark eyes held so much tenderness that Eddie felt himself slipping beneath the depths and losing himself while longing for more. Without realizing it, he was leaning towards Robert. He was like a magnet pulling him closer, and Eddie was not resisting.

  Robert was pleased with the obvious interest Eddie was showing. The pull was working its magic as he watched Eddie lean into him as he explained, and although he wasn’t sure Eddie was hearing him, it was clear that he was listening. It was the sound of his voice that was reaching him more than the words he was saying. The power of the bond, he’d observed it between Ismael and his beloved Easton, but now Robert got to experience it all for himself, and it was extraordinary.

  Robert let go of Eddie’s hand and slipped his arm around him and pulled him close to his side, reveling in the solid warmth of his beloved. “Until we find out why the Caen are after you, I’d like for you to stay with me at the Palace. We can protect you there.” Robert decided to make his pitch while Eddie was in an accommodating mood. But unfortunately, he’d misjudged Eddie’s stubborn independence.

  “I can’t do that, thank you, but I can’t do that.” He said and pulled away a little, although he remained close. “I have a job, and I have to take care of the farm.” He explained further.

  “I made some calls while you were asleep, and you have been given a week off with pay. The owner of the restaurant owed us a favor. It will give you the time and space to focus on your security and protection.” He saw a look of annoyance coming into Eddie’s eyes, and Robert absolutely refused to allow him to think that this situation was not as serious as it was.

  “These men are not like anything you have come across in your short life, Eddie. Don’t take this lightly or think you will outsmart them because you won’t. They will hunt you and will not stop until you are captured or dead. We need to stop them, and the only way to do that is to find out why they want you.” He had Eddie’s attention now, and the fear, although unsettling for Robert, was better than having this helpless human thinking he could take on the Caen soldiers.