A Taste of Blood

*

Chapter Thirteen

When she woke a few hours later, Violet found Tyler sitting in the same chair, watching her. She smiled a sleepy smile at him and stretched. Tyler smiled back and felt the urge to climb into the bed with her, to hold her. He shook his head to clear it, reminding himself that she was a client now; no funny stuff. He tried to figure out exactly when she went from being an annoying brat to being a beautiful young woman. It didn't help when she climbed out of bed and was wearing a black satin slip, probably picked up at A Kitten's Dream. She walked toward the bathroom and Tyler could tell that since she was fairly tall for a woman, about five foot eleven, that her slip was large, but still barely came halfway down her thighs. He could also tell that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it, as evidenced by her slip pulling against her firm behind as she walked. Tyler felt his crotch start to stir, mentally berating himself for his feelings toward a client.

When she returned, she found Tyler staring out the window. She padded quietly to his side and put her hand on his arm. He turned and looked at her hand, feeling the burning warmth on his skin; it was like nothing he had every felt before. It was as if he could feel her life flowing beneath her palm. He looked into Violet's eyes and saw something he had never seen in the princess before: maturity. Sure, it wasn't as developed as other kids her age, but considering that she had been kidnapped by werewolves, rescued by a vampire, and lived to tell about it, she was doing pretty good. He smiled softly at her and felt something touch him deep inside when she smiled back.

"Violet," he said, trying to work through his suddenly dry throat. "I need to go to my apartment to pick up a few things if I'm going to be staying here, but I can't leave you alone. Do you want to come with me?"

"Ty, I'd love to. I need to get out of this house. Let me get cleaned up and then we'll go." She smiled again and sauntered back to the bathroom, maybe adding a little extra sway to her hips in the hope that he was watching. Which he was.

As the door closed behind her, Tyler turned and looked out the window at the sprawling grounds of the manor. He was absently scanning the massive yard when, under a tree out by the road, he spotted a figure. Once his vision adjusted, he recognized it as Grace. Stepping to the bathroom door, he tapped on it and told Violet that he needed to go outside for a minute. She said that was fine and told him to hurry back. He grabbed his coat from the chair and headed down the staircase. Lilith was waiting for him; she was standing and facing the front door with her eyes closed. "Be careful," she said without looking at him. "She is still powerful and you will be mostly powerless, since it is daytime."

"Just keep an eye on Violet while I'm gone." He stepped to the door as she nodded. He pulled the door open, a cool fall breeze blowing into the foyer. It carried a strange smell on it; a smell of danger. Tyler pulled his coat tight around him and stepped into the wind. He surveyed both sides of the yard as he walked the length of the grass to the road. Grace was still standing under the tree, her long brown coat flapping in the breeze. Her hair, untied, streamed out behind her.

"What do you want, Grace?" No preamble, just down to business.

"Good to see you too, Tyler. You know what I want. I want the girl. Give her to me and I won't be forced to take her again."

Tyler laughed, a mirthless sound that was borne away on the swirling wind. "Grace, you're on enemy ground. You're in no position to make threats. Now, tuck your tail between your legs and run home before I rip it off."

"Tyler," she answered quietly. "You have no idea what you're up against. Cain is like nothing you've ever seen. He's unstoppable. A force of nature. You will all die." She moved close enough to put her hand on his chest. "Do you really want to die? I don't think you do. Join us, Tyler! Join the winning team while you still can! While you can still have me."

Tyler looked down at her and touched her cheek, the smell of spices and sweet candy reaching his nose, but with an underlying smell of decay. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, tilting her head into his hand. He moved his fingers to her neck and she mewed softly at his touch. He hand closed around her throat and he slammed her back against the tree, knocking the wind from her, holding her there with one hand. He leaned in close to her face, showing his fangs.

"Listen to me, Grace, and listen good. Take your hollow threats and your empty promises and go while I'm letting you walk away. " He let her go and she rubbed her neck, starting to walk away from him, her back toward the road. "Take this warning with you, Grace: any Wolf that comes here will not leave alive. That is a promise." She nodded curtly, turned around, and ran across the road. Tyler waited until she was gone to start back to the house. He was halfway back when he heard noises from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw six werewolves in their wolfen form loping across the ground toward him. He was alone and weaponless, during the day. He would have no chance against them, so he ran for the house, his speed decreased by the daylight. He knew he wasn't going to make it.

To his surprise, the front door opened and Lilith stepped out into the shade of the porch. Even from twenty yards away, he could feel her gathering power to stop the Wolves. They slowed down, unsure of what to do. Tyler put on one last burst of speed and made it to the porch, his strength returning quickly. The Wolves, now faced with two vampires, turned and fled, even thought he numbers were in their favor. Lilith led Tyler back into the house, closing the door behind them.

"Tyler, that was incredibly stupid, putting yourself in danger that way. She probably would have left without incident if you hadn't manhandled her. Now, they will return, probably in greater numbers."

"I didn't know she had those others with her. If I had, I wouldn't have gone. I'm not stupid, you know."

Lilith turned to face him. "Then prove it. That show of intellect out on the lawn was not impressive. But, have no fear," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You'll do better in the future." She walked toward a section of the house Tyler had never seen; the part under the bedrooms. Tyler turned and walked up the stairs and opened the door to Violet's room, only to have the room's occupant throw her arms around him and squeeze hard.

"Oh my God, Tyler! Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Instinctively, he wraps his arms around her and realized just how well her body fit with his and how warm and soft she was.

"No, Violet. They didn't hurt me. They never even touched me." He looked over at the window and saw her jeans lying on the floor and then looked down, realizing that she didn't have any pants on. He fought with himself and finally convinced himself to let her go.

Violet clung to him for a second longer and then looked up at him, longing in her eyes. Tyler felt an almost overwhelming urge to kiss her and carry her back to her bed. 'She's a client,' he reminded himself. Gently but firmly pushing her back to arm's length, he smiled at her.

"You need to put more clothes on if we're leaving the house. I can't protect you from all of the horny guys along the way. You might cause road rage or something."

She touched his arm again and smiled, pulling out of his grasp, and walking over to get her pants. Tyler forced himself to look elsewhere as Violet bent over to put them on. Once she was ready, she grabbed her coat and they headed downstairs. Mr. Smythe was jut walking in as they reached the ground floor.

"Boss, I need to run back to my apartment and grab a few thing if I'm going to be living here."

"Fine, Tyler. Since Violet is obviously going with you, you should take some silver. The Wolves will probably be after her as soon as she leaves the house."

Tyler agreed and went to the armory, grabbing his mace and silver stakes. Once equipped, Tyler led Violet out to the car, just as he had hundreds of times before. When he reached for the back door, she stopped him.

"Tyler, could I sit up front with you?"

"I don't think so, princess. I'm not sure it would be safe."

"Hold on," she said. "I'm your boss now and I'm telling you that I'm sitting up front." Without another word, she opened her own door and sat in the front seat. Tyler sighed and walked around to the driver's side. As he was about to climb into his seat, he saw Thomas Smythe looking at him through one of the windows, his look unreadable, but Tyler could tell that he was angry about something. Tyler watched as Smythe turned from the window and probably went back to his office. Tyler could only shrug and get into the car.

The drive went smoothly, Tyler and Violet talking instead of listening to music, actually getting to know each other. Tyler found out that she had a wonderful sense of humor and Violet learned that Tyler was really a gentle soul trapped in a warrior's body. To help himself try to reconcile these two parts, he wrote short stories and poems. Violet seemed actually interested in reading his work, though Tyler claimed it was all crap and that he only did it to make peace with himself.

They arrived at his apartment with no problems. Tyler went in first, scanning the front room and the kitchen in the slowly fading sunlight, the setting sun giving everything a light red tinge. He didn't see anything but something felt wrong; he just couldn't place it. He stepped in and motion for Violet to follow him. There was a scent on the wind, one he just couldn't place.

"We have to work quickly, princess. I don't need much and something isn't right here. Grabs those two boxes in the front room and follow me." She did as instructed and met Tyler in the hallway. He was digging in a closet, pulling out things like hats and gloves. "Put these in that box and I'll take the other."

Tyler took the other box and went to his bedroom, throwing clothes into it. As comfortable as they were, two sets of everything wouldn't last long. He was tossing in the last handful when Violet called out to him from the hallway. "Tyler! I need you!"

He vaulted the bed and bounced off of the doorjamb, landing in the hallway. His view was partially blocked by the open closet door, but he could see two men standing in his entryway. As soon as they saw him, they moved toward Violet. Tyler moved at the same time.

Taking one large step, he planted his left foot and kicked the closet door, tearing it from the hinges and sending it flying into the man on the right side. The second guy had transformed in mid-jump. Tyler moved next to Violet, wrapped his left arm around her, and pulled her out of the way, his right hand catching the werewolf by the throat and slamming him through the drywall and into the bathroom. It's head hit the bathtub and it didn't move, though it was still breathing. Tyler moved to the main room where his now-hairy opponent was throwing the closet door off of himself and standing up. He roared and Tyler smashed the mace square into his muzzle, causing him to change back. Another knock with the mace put him down for the count.

He turned back to check on Violet and found her in the bathroom sitting on the werewolf's chest and punching him repeatedly in the face, screaming, "Just leave me alone!" Tyler pulled her off of the prone form and took the rest of her punches on his chest, wrapping his arms around her and letting her vent her emotions, both fear and anger.

They slowly slid to the floor and Tyler rocked her as she cried. Slowly, she regained her composure, using toilet paper to blow her nose and throwing the used pieces on the werewolf, who had now returned to human form, making Tyler chuckle.

"Are you okay, princess? I think you've snotted him to death." He smiled when she laughed through her sniffs. "Come on. Let's grab those boxes and get out of here." She nodded and they stood, Violet taking Tyler's hand.

"I'm not leaving you for a second, Ty. I need you. To protect me."

Tyler was very aware of her pause between her sentences, but he couldn't tell if it was accidentally or on purpose. He pushed it to the back of his mind as they collected Tyler's things and made their way back to the street, where his car was parked. When they got there, they saw the largest, most powerful man they had ever seen leaning against the hood of the car. He was easily over seven feet tall and packed with muscle; even on his best day, Tyler couldn't have beaten him in a fight. When the man turned to look at him, the brown eyes showed intelligence much greater than one would expect from such a savage looking man. There was a ferocity about him that was held under the thinnest veneer of control. There was that smell again, one of sharp spices and sweat.

"You did well, warrior. It shall be an honor to fight you in the coming battle." He voice was so deep that it was almost a rumble. His skin was the color of blasted sand, his hair a dark brown that approached black.

"Cain," Tyler said, putting the pieces together.

"Yes, warrior. I am he. Now do you see why you cannot win? My might is much greater than yours, even if are changed. It is night time now," Cain commented casually, waving his arm to indicate the black sky. "And still you could not win."

"Cain, listen to me. I have no wish to fight you or your Wolves. If there is such a battle, the losses to both sides will be immense. Surely you can see that this doesn't need to happen."

Cain took a deep breath and stood up, the front of Tyler's car rising by six full inches. "You are correct. It does not. Give me the girl and there will be no fighting necessary. I get what I want and you do not die by my hand. That was, everyone is happy."

Tyler felt the rage pour through him again, barely holding it in check. "Listen to me, Cain. I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to, and you are going to make me. I will do whatever it takes to protect this girl. Even if that means killing you." Cain, to Tyler's surprise, laughed.

"Brave, strong and stupid. You are but the latest in a string of fools that Lilith chooses to be her champion. The have all been destroyed, just as you will be. Save yourself grief and give me the girl. Now." With his last word, Cain stuck out a large hand, waiting to take Violet.

Tyler pushed Violet backwards and squared his shoulders. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly. "If you want her, you'll have to take her."

Cain's smile turned into a snarl and he swung an immense fist that changed into claws in mid-swing. Tyler barely had time to duck before the claws tore his face to shreds. A massive werewolf that had to stand nine feet tall replaced man. Cain roared and swiped again, intent on taking Tyler's head from his shoulder. The arm was blocked before it reached him. Suddenly, Lilith was standing between them, one arm holding back Cain's paw.

"Mother," Cain said, more clearly than Tyler had though possible.

"Cain," she replied calmly. "Tyler, take Violet and leave now."

Tyler didn't even respond; he just opened the car door and put Violet inside and the boxes in the back. He quickly slid in and started the car, backing out and pulling away from the apartment building. Tyler grunted as he felt Lilith release a great amount of eldritch power. He drove quickly, trying to put as much distance between Violet and Cain as possible.

They were five minutes from home, Violet looking out of the back window constantly, when Lilith appeared in the back seat; her clothing was torn to shred, bite and claw marks all over her body. Tyler felt her presence rather than saw her, though the smell of ozone accompanied her.

"You proved me wrong, Tyler," she said quietly, coughing a little before continuing. "I thought what you did at the house today was idiotic. Threatening Cain? That takes the proverbial cake." She laughed a little before another couching fit set in.

Tyler laughed one and drove faster, trying to get Lilith home before it was too late. He slowed down at the gate and then sped to the front door, sliding to a stop. "Violet, get the door. I'll get Lilith." Violet simply nodded and ran for the door, Tyler only a couple of seconds behind her. He headed for the blood cooler, running fast enough to barely touch the floor. He held Lilith's limp frame in one arm, yanking the refrigerator open with the other, pulling out an entire rack of blood bags. He opened one and stuck the straw into Lilith's mouth, watching her sip slowly, making soft sighing noises. Violet let out a small gagging sound. Tyler turned and looked at her.

"Violet, why don't you go upstairs? You don't have to watch this." She just nodded and went upstairs holding her stomach.

"Tyler," Lilith said quietly. "Go to her. She needs you. I can take care of myself now. Thank you." Tyler helped her into a chair in the dining room and then moved the blood to the table, seeing that some of her wounds were healing over already. Once she was settled, Tyler went upstairs. He knocked on Violet's door and waited for her to tell him to come in before he entered.

She was lying on her bed, her brown hair splayed above her head on the white pillowcase. She was staring up at the ceiling, holding her teddy bear close to her. Tyler didn't know what to say, so he sat in the chair next to her bed and waited. After several minutes of watching tears roll down her cheeks, Tyler heard Violet start to speak softly.

"Tyler, he was going to kill you, wasn't he?" Tyler nodded and said 'Yes' just as quietly. "And what was he going to do to me?"

He sat silently for a moment before answering. "I don't know, princess. And we're not going to find out. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."

Violet began crying again and turned toward Tyler, leaving the teddy bear behind, and crawling into his lap, making herself as small as possible. Tyler wrapped his arms around her, protecting her, and let her fall asleep on his lap. He grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered both of them, staying just that way all night.

*

Chapter Fourteen

In his not-sleep, Tyler dreamt of a world where the werewolves ruled, a world where the sun never showed and the moon reigned the sky. The Wolves were penning up human beings like cattle, eating only the fittest and juiciest, forcing sex on the humans to increase their food stock. The smell of death was everywhere.

At the top of a Cyclopean pile of bones, sat Cain, to his right was Violet, now his queen. He had turned her into a werewolf, taking away Lilith's bloodline by converting Violet. With no more children and no one to fight Cain, Lilith's line had died. Cain used his newfound to drain Lilith of her power, leaving her helpless. Here, she kneeled at Cain's throne, a collar around her neck and her hands bound. She was his slave, but not for sexual needs, merely the need for power, to have his greatest foe conquered and made his prisoner. On the pile of bones lay Tyler's body, dead and covered in blood. Cain reached down with one hand and pulled Tyler's head off and offered it to Violet, who smiled and drank Tyler's blood, her mouth turning bright red.

Tyler returned to awareness and found Violet still sleeping on his lap, her arms around his neck. He fought for control of his breath and rapidly beating heart, trying not to wake her. He lifted her ever so gently and laid her on the bed, tucking the blanket up under her chin. Quietly walking to the door, Tyler went downstairs to get some 'breakfast,' which he suddenly realized he needed. His head ached and his throat was dry.

The last thing he expected to see was Lilith sprawled on the floor, blood bags scattered. His first thought was that she had been poisoned. He raced to her body, forgetting his own hunger, and turned her over, noting that she was still breathing, albeit shallowly. He checked the blood bags, but couldn't smell anything unusual. When he looked back at Lilith's body, he noticed the still ragged wound on her neck. A quick count showed him a dozen empty bags on the floor. That much blood should have healed everything. Her eyelids fluttered and she grabbed Tyler's neck in an iron grip.