Breathless Ch. 06

"Blood magic?!" she shouted at him. "You coward!"

Solomons made a tisking noise as he swung and she dodged. "The stakes are too high to leave this to chance my love. You should have taken my offer." He swung again, this time hitting her shoulder and causing her to spin.

She had to expose him and she knew it. If she could, he would be exposed as a coward and a cheat even if he killed her. Blood magic was taboo, even amongst the vampires. Only dark witches could . . . 'The Blood Rampart,' she thought. 'They must have done this.' She was backhanded across the face, sending blood splattering from her mouth and she went spinning to the ground.

Melissa was terrified. This wasn't how she thought this would go at all. She watched on as Solomon began to demolish Mel's creator . . . hell, his own creator, and she didn't seem to be fighting back. It was as if she was waiting for something. Melissa could feel something in the back of her mind, something that Sadie was afraid of.

"She knows what he's doing," she muttered. She looked around and saw Grom, who looked pretty nervous. "Grom, she knows why he's so strong, but I can tell the specifics. How could you boost a vampires power?!"

The police captain shrugged his shoulders. "Could just be that he's more bad-ass than we thought, or could be a bunch of reasons. Even drugs can work on vamps if you find the right ones."

She turned back to watch Sadie fight a defensive battle, which against Solomon meant a losing battle.

"I thought you would've made more of a fight of it than this," Solomon said, moving in again. Sadie was sitting flat on her ass, bleeding from her mouth, cuts on her face, and one of her eyes was swelling shut. He yanked her up by the vest, holding her two feet off the ground. "Submit," he whispered. Even then, he felt her blood calling to him and reminding him of the flesh he had once enjoyed . . . reminding him of who made him and --

"You're doing that on purpose?!" he belted. She had been drawing him in for some reason.

Without warning, his opponent found some life left in her. She grabbed the front of his robe and ripped it open and then spun him toward the crowed were her allies stood.

"Son of a bitch!" Grom shouted. He looked at Melissa. "Blood magic! Solomon fed off something powerful and then had it magically linked to him!"

"Fed off what?!" she replied. She realized that she was more angry than scared now. There was no honor in the man. 'When did I start caring about honor?' she wondered. She smiled slightly. 'Maybe there's more of Sadie in me than I thought.'

Vlad looked enraged. "If we cut off the power?"

"Then he's just his normal self," Grom said. "But we don't know where they are. And Sadie's already weakened."

Vlad cocked an eyebrow. "How far away can the blood source be?"

"Not far. The connection grows weaker with distance."

Vlad looked directly at the pavillion. "Has anyone seen his Blood Brood since this started?"

Grom stared. "Crap, that would be bad. He still has four of them, and all of them are at least two thousand years old. That's a shitload of power!"

"Devlin!" the alpha wolf growled, looking around until he saw the young officer. "If they're violating the rules of the challenge --"

"Then all bets are off. Solomon's life is forfeit."

"Doesn't do us a lot of good if he kills Sadie anyway. Let everyone on both sides know what those marks mean!" he shouted at everyone nearby. "I'm going to go take out his Solomon's food supply!"

Vlad's nephew Todd stepped up. "I'm going with you," he said. "Sadie's more one of us than one of them anyway."

"If you get killed, don't tell your mother," he said. But he was pleased with the young man. He'd be a great leader some day.

"I'm in too," Ivan said.

Fitzpatrick stepped forward, pulling wands from under his belt. With that Irish accent, he said, "I'll give them witches of 'is somethin' to worry 'bout."

Several other wolves, goblins, and humans stepped forward. Sadie had a lot of friends.

Vlad looked at Grom. "You need to stay neutral. Get with the national guard and be ready to stop the riot."

"What riot?"

"The one I'm going to start." Vlad looked at Mel. "You in?"

She nodded. "In a bit. I think I know something that will help Sadie." Then she vanished into the crowd, an evil gleam in her eye.

Inside the dome, the Blood Saint was furious beyond words. He knew that if anyone saw the symbols on his chest that he was a marked man. He hated this woman. Hell, he'd barely even liked her when she gave up her sex to him, but she'd been so vulnerable that he couldn't resist himself.

"You bitch!" he screamed grabbing her by the throat and hurling her into the ground.

Eve was seeing stars and her throat ached. Hell, everything ached. She'd lost a lot of blood, and Solomon wasn't even breathing hard.

"I'm going to relish ripping your heart out . . . again. I'll sever your spine, and maybe show you the same gentle touch that Adam did."

That did it. Sadie had been beaten up, betrayed, and would probably die, but she would not allow this pathetic creature to rape her. She thrust her leg out and kicked him in the testicles. Super-powered or not, that was going to hurt.

Solomon doubled over, grabbing the family jewels and cursing in a language that didn't even exist anymore while Sadie backpedaled, trying to catch her breath.

Outside, Melissa was seeking out a very particularly quarry. If the other side was going to send in power, then so would she. Finally, she spotted who she was looking for. Rather, she spotted WHAT she was looking for.

Bart saw Melissa striding towards him, a hungry sway in her walk. She had accepted what she was, the daughter of a powerful vampire. She had taken on a sensual quality that few mortals could even approach.

He grinned. Eve might be off limits to him, but this little strumpet --

Bart didn't even get the thought completed. Melissa pushed him against the dome and grabbed his head, yanking it to one side. For the first time in a long time, Bart was afraid. He was a pure demon but only from the fourth realm. Melissa was effectively the grandchild of the Lord of Blood, and she was so much stronger than he had imagined now. He should have picked his victims more carefully.

"You told Frost about what Sadie and I were doing," Melissa hissed. "Terrence is dead because of you. And unfortunately for you," she crooned, "so am I." Then she plunged her fangs into his scaly neck and drank deep. She could feel his foul demonic desire rising in his pants, but she was unconcerned with his comfort or release. She just wanted his demonic blood. She drank in his power, and she felt . . . goddess-like. He was different than the human blood she had consumed from those little plastic bags. His life-force was pure energy, and it was energy that her creator needed.

Melissa dropped the prone body to the ground. She wasn't sure he'd live. She was sure that she didn't care. She stood against the dome, placing her hands on the humming wall of power. She felt her connection to Sadie, one much stronger than the older vampire had ever shared with Solomon. Sadie loved her and Melissa loved her back. Sadie had given Mel eternal life and introduced her to someone she could share that life with. It was time to pay her creator back, and she let her power flow through the channel that connected them.

"Drink of me," Melissa said, feeling herself returning to her normal but still powerful self.

About that time, Vlad and his crew busted into Frost's private security and the proverbial shit hit the fan. Bodies started flying everywhere, guns started going off, and the moon was filled with angry shouts and howling. Vlad was the first one into the pavilion. The remaining members of Solomon's Blood Brood were sitting a circle of chairs and the were surrounded by witches who were chanting in low, powerful voices. Frost was there too, and he looked angry.

"Stop them!" he shouted at his remaining guards. "No, not you!" he said as one of the Blood Brood started to stand. "You need to save your strength for --" Frost was promptly speared in the gut by Vladimir Koloff, and the fight was on in earnest.

Back outside, Solomon had Sadie back on the ground. He had punched holes in bother her wings and broken her ankle, and all she could do was crawl.

"This time," he muttered, realizing that he was beginning to feel a little tired for the first time, "I'll make sure that you stay dead." He raised one foot and brought it down on her neck . . . almost. She had caught his foot. "Just give up!" But when he saw her eyes, he knew that her quitting wasn't likely to happen.

Sadie's eyes were lit up, burning red as the blood her father had imparted on her so long ago. Solomon and Adam would have lived the King of Blood's dream, but it was Eve who held the power. Somehow, she had gotten the power back.

"Your sister sends her greetings," Sadie said, her voice practically humming with demonic energy. She may have hated the son of a bitch but, for the moment, she was totally her daddy's girl. Sadie snapped Solomon's ankle. "Now we're even."

Solomon screamed. Even with the juice flowing to him from his bodyguards, that had hurt. He fell backward, landing unceremoniously on his back. To make matters worse, he felt himself growing weaker . . . rapidly. His forehead still bled, but he had nothing replenishing him. He looked towards the pavilion just in time to see one of his Blood Brood come flying out and slam into the side of the circle. There was an enormous half-form werewolf on top of the vampire guard tearing him to kibbles and bits. "No," he gasped. He looked around and saw Eve crawling towards him. He tried to get away, but she was stronger than him again and caught up, grabbing his broken ankle and making him scream. She crawled up his body as he tried desperately to get away.

"I gave you something," Sadie growled, her face having reached his abdomen, "a long time ago." She dug her fingers into the flesh of his stomach and grabbing a handful of intestines. She listened to his sweet, sweet scream of agony. "I gave you my heart and my blood," she continued, crawling further up his body. He was flailing at her, but she know longer felt his blows. She did catch one of his arms and break it at the elbow, making him scream again. "Now," she whispered directly into his ear, "I want them back."

Solomon had never imagined it ending like this. He actually saw Eve plunge her hand into his chest and grab his lifeless heart. He tried to scream, but he had no air left. When she plunged her fangs into his neck, he didn't even have his blood anymore. She was taking everything from him.

The crowd quieted as she made her way to her feet. She hobbled on one leg, but she still managed to stand tall and proud. The magical circle came tumbling down. Solomon was dead, his last blood dripping from Sadie's lips.

"My name," she started, her voice growing in strength, "is Sadie Hewitt." She saw Melissa rushing forward to support her, that beautiful woman who had given her the strength she needed. "You may know me as Eve, but I haven't gone by that name since before any of you were born. Some have called me the Betrayer, but the true Betrayer lays dead at my feet." She extended her presence to engulf the crowd. "Know the truth of me." Her voice boomed like thunder, sweeping through the onlookers like a flood. All cameras turned toward her, all microphones listened. The world would finally know.

"Liar!" came a gargled shout from off to one side. Lord Frost stumbled forward, injured in the battle with Vlad and his men. Vlad ignored him, moving to stand beside the woman who had awoken a passion in him, kissing her on the cheek. The three of them stared down the fallen vampire lord as he stood in front of the throng, making one last attempt to save himself. The Blood Brood had been torn apart and the Rampart dismantled. Frost's allies were gone.

"You have no proof!" he shouted. "The only other witness to what happened is dead at your feet, conveniently silenced!"

"There is nothing convenient about what happened here today," Sadie said. She saw that Devlin, Fitzpatrick and the rest of the werewolves had joined her in the middle of the circle, as had Marge and the human Tommy. Frost was conspicuously still alone.

"I denounce you!" Frost bellowed, looking around desperately for someone who might still listen. "You --"

"Oh shut up," Melissa said, walking forward and belting him in the face. Frost went flying, as Mel was still hopped up on demon blood. "You wanted her to take her place in the vampire hierarchy," she said, pointed at Sadie, "well she just damn well did. You betrayed the mother of us all! You broke the rules of challenge by letting Solomon use outside help. I'm pretty damn sure that you're responsible for the death of Terrence McDermott, and I'm damned sure you're responsible for me getting killed!" Melissa had worked up tremendous rage, and this time she was feeding it. She hated Frost for what he had done to her and to Sadie and to Terrence and to the entire vampire race. She hated him for who he was and had been.

Frost was just staring at her. He was thousands of years older than her, but he couldn't touch her power . . . her anger . . . her need for --

"Oh no," he whispered, noticing for the first time that the light around him had begun to glow blue. The air swirled and took form. It mere moments, he was surround by wraiths. The shield had fallen, and there was nothing to keep them out. Solomon was dead, but vengeance had been called for against someone else . . . Frost.

"For everything you have done and for every person you have hurt," Melissa muttered, her mind and vision clouded with rage, "I call for vengeance."

Sadie thought that Solomon's screams had been sweet, but Frost's were just the icing on the cake. He was surrounded by those angry spirits, and soon there wasn't enough left of him to fill a thimble. The wraiths were good at what they did. Frost was dead, and no one could do anything about it.

This time, it was Devlin who spoke up. He looked at Sadie and then Melissa, then at the crowd. "The wraiths have spoken," he said, his voice cracking at first but gaining strength. "Since time's beginning, the wraiths have always sided with the just. So who will you believe now?"

Vlad left the speeches and rallying to the others. He lifted Sadie up off her good food and carried her towards his waiting vehicle. His lips rarely strayed from hers as he placed her gently in the back seat. She was exhausted. She had seven thousand years of hurt and heartache that she had just unloaded, and that was a lot for anyone to bear, even the mother of all vampires. The werewolves, many of whom were walking wounded but still walking with pride, cleared the cameras and screaming onlookers away. Melissa came over to the car.

"Going with us?" Vlad asked.

Mel smiled. "I think so. For a while anyway. Once Mary gets the rest of Frost out of her teeth, I think she'll want to spend some quiet time together." She got into the back seat next to Sadie and pulled the battered goddess into her arms, comforting her and lending her strength. "For now --" She left it at that.

Frankenstein and his bikers, with the blessings of the Gravestones Police Department, escorted the weary warrior home for some long overdue peace and quiet.

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Two months later . . .

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You would think that few would want to brave a cold northwestern night for New Year's Eve party, but the crowd around the recently purchased home of Sadie Hewitt was enormous. Shortly after her victory over Solomon, Sadie had realized that she had finally found a place she could settle down for more than a couple of years and gone looking for a more permanent residence. She had bought a house in New Plymouth, complete with four bedrooms, an enormous kitchen, and a master bathroom to die for. Oh, and a finished basement that was perfect for its nocturnal occupants. It was also right across the street from Mary's. That made the population of New Plymouth . . . four. Melissa had thrown herself into the role of "servant" for her wraith mistress, and both of them were ecstatic about it.

Vlad had come home with Sadie that night and had simply never left. His clothes shared her closet, his toothbrush was in her bathroom, and he showed no sign of wanting to leave. Which was good, because Sadie would have been forced to hunt him down if he tried to escape.

Sadie had recovered from her wounds in about a month, during which time she was officially fired as being an Arbiter. She didn't hold a grudge against the Bureau, seeing as they could have technically put her in jail for lying to them. Besides, she was far too well known to do undercover work ever again, and having a walking religious icon tended to make things complicated for the Arbiters. So she had officially joined the Gravestones Police Department. They even let her keep her guns.

Over the world, vampire society was in chaos. Up was now down, and black was now white, and no one knew how to make sense of it. Many vampires had gone underground, fearing reprisal from the mortal races for what Solomon had decided to do, while others simply kicked back and waited to see the fallout. A few had been unable to cope with the notion that the quintessential evil of vampire legend was actually their creator and savior, and had taken their second deaths upon them. That had made Sadie sad, but she had no control over them.

Many vampires had flocked to Midian over the last few months as their personal Mecca, with some of the leaders of the great houses seeking audiences with Sadie. She had wanted to blow them off, but Vlad and Mel had convinced her that she couldn't run from this responsibility unless she wanted to risk someone else like Frost stepping in to the fill the power void. So she made time every weekday to meet with those of the vampire race who were just trying to understand what had happened. It turned out that they weren't all bad. And her living across the street from a wraith made them all behave themselves.

She smiled when she thought about "good" vampires. There were at least two that she could say with pride were her immortal brethren . . . her children Melissa Neron and Matt Devlin. Devlin had still wanted to come over to the darkworld, and he has shown such promise and courage under fire that she had brought him over with open arms. Laying beneath the earth still freaked her out, but Devlin behaved himself, though he promised that he was going to brag to his friends about the "hot babe" that he'd slept with. He wouldn't name names, of course.

Devlin was the new keeper of the Book of Names, by order of Sadie. It turned out that he was a sharp mind and a history buff, so he was also the official historian of the vampire race. He got a stipend from the World Vampire Council that allowed him to quit the police department and travel the world, getting more than the names of the vampires but their stories as well. He had come back to town for New Years Eve, to spend it with his creator and, for all intents and purposes, his new sister.

Sadie had been part of many things over the years, but this was the first time she could remember having a family. Mary had become like her own sister, Melissa her daughter and best friend, Devlin her overly geeky son, and Vlad . . . Mmh, it warmed her in her naughty places to think about HIS role in her life. He actually had held a pack meeting at their new residence together, to emphasize to his friends, family, and followers that Sadie was part of his life and would be for a long time. The sex after that meeting had been fabulous.

Frost and his crowd were gone or hiding. Mayor Jefferson and Senator Trefauld had been thrust into public scrutiny and were in the process of being recalled. The United States Government and other foreign powers were interacting with Sadie to try and wrap their minds around the apparent coup attempt and to establish new rules. Sadie hated being in charge of political crap.