On The Run With A Vampire

22. Raven

CHAPTER 22

RAVEN

I feel like I’m about to throw up. My limbs are heavy, my eyes are unfocused, and there’s a high-pitched ringing in my ears that just won’t go away.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt worse. This beats even my most horrendous hangover from Daphne’s three-day birthday celebration four years ago.

I open my mouth to say something, but my tongue feels like lead, and the only sound that comes out is a gargled moan.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

I turn my head sluggishly in the direction of the voice I just heard. There’s someone standing in front of me, but all I can make out is a tall, blurry form.

“What’s going on?” I try to say. “Who are you? Where am I?”

Instead, what comes out is a raspy: “Whasshgon? Hoorya? Werami?”

The tall figure laughs. “Looks like you’re having a bit of trouble there.” The voice is smooth, almost mocking, and each chuckle makes my head throb with a sharp, stinging pain.

I try to focus on the figure, but my vision won’t stop swimming and the edges of everything are fuzzy. I blink as quickly as I can, trying to clear the haze, but it only makes the dizziness worse.

“You are quite the difficult young woman to track down, Raven Hartley,” the figure says. “I’m assuming you got help from Cordelia?”

I want to respond, to demand answers, but the effort is almost too much to bear. My mind feels sluggish, like I’m swimming through a sea of thick honey. Each thought takes forever to form, and every attempt to focus on the figure only makes the world spin faster.

“I’ve not been able to figure out where she’s hiding,” the figure continues lightly, as if this is a perfectly normal way to have a conversation. “But not to worry, I’m sure you’ll be a great help there.”

He cackles again, and the sound feels like metal scraping against my brain. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a noise I’ve hated more.

I watch as he throws his head back and—Wait. I think the haze around me is finally beginning to lift. My vision is clearing, and the figure is slowly solidifying from a shadowy blur into something more tangible.

My limbs are still heavy, but I manage to sit up a little straighter. Though the effort does make my head spin.

A man is standing in front of me. He’s dressed in a dark suit that seems to be at least three sizes too big for him, if the way the blazer hangs off his shoulders or the way his trousers swallow him up is anything to go by. His face is angular, more bone than anything else, with sharp features and piercing eyes a deep, unsettling shade of blue. Below both eyes are two purplish bags, and his hair is nothing more than a handful of wisps combed over to the left.

I get the impression that, once upon a time, he was probably not a bad-looking guy.

Not anymore.

My throat feels like sandpaper, but I croak out, “Who the hell are you? Why am I here? Where is here? What do you want with me? What have you done with Lucien?”

The man’s smile is thin, pursed, and empty of any warmth whatsoever. “Ah, so many questions. Where should I begin? We’ll start with an introduction, since that’s only polite.” He clears his throat and then gives me an overly dramatic bow. “My name is Warren Lemmings and—Oh. From the look on your face, it seems you’ve heard of me.”

Warren?

Surely not.

“You’re…You’re Lucien’s Warren?”

“Lucien’s Warren?” he parrots, his voice gaining an almost hysterical edge. “Is that how he’s been describing me? I bet he’s been calling himself my Sire and going on and on about how he saved me. He has, hasn’t he?”

I shake my head. “No, not at all. He didn’t?—”

“Typical,” Warren continues as if I’m not even in the room anymore. He starts to pace up and down. “I really am going to enjoy killing him.”

My heart thuds painfully in my chest.

“Now, onto your next question,” Warren says, spinning around on the spot so he’s facing me again. “I believe it was ‘why am I here’? I have to be honest with you, Raven. You really weren’t part of the plan. You’ve stumbled into a situation much larger than yourself, and I am sorry you’ve had to get mixed up in it all.”

He gives me what I think is supposed to be a sympathetic smile, but it just gives me the creeps.

“This was supposed to be over years ago, but I didn’t factor in the incompetency of the human police. That’s why I had to worm my way into the S.B.E.F and start pointing them in the right direction.”

“Wait,” I say, certain I’ve misheard. “The S.B.E.F? You’re the one in charge?”

“Oh yes,” Warren says with a dismissive shrug. “It was quite an easy hiring process. I simply had to get rid of the last head of department—What was his name? Marvin?”

“Melvin,” I grit out. “What did you do to him?”

Another shrug. “Who can remember? There have been so many casualties since then. Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. So I dealt with Melvin?—”

“Melvin.”

“And took over as head of the S.B.E.F. Really, they should be thanking me. Those fools had absolutely no idea what they were doing and were on the brink of closure before I came in. I trained up those two idiots?—”

“Melody. Todd.”

“And actually turned this department into a formidable force,” Warren continues. “It took longer than I would’ve liked, especially with Lucien being so savvy at evading detection. But here we are now. So, all in all, I say it’s a job well done.”

“A job well done?” I echo, shaking my head in disbelief. “Eight people are dead. Eight innocent people.”

Warren shrugs again. “Oh, it’s a great deal higher than eight. It took me a bit of trial and error to get my signature right. There’s something very specific about the way a vampire kills, you know? Replicating it wasn’t easy.”

Replicating it?

I frown. What was it Lucien said? That Cathy Corrigan’s body didn’t look like she’d been killed by a vampire? It was too brutal and violent. Too much effort had been exerted to snuff the life out of her, and a vampire wouldn’t need to do that.

And then there was the blood.

I saw the stain with my own eyes. Why would Warren, a vampire, leave that much blood behind?

It doesn’t make sense.

I’m missing something here. The final piece that’ll bring this puzzle together.

“So, back to the question at hand: why are you here?” Warren tilts his head to the side and gives me that same thin, pursed smile from before. “Killing Lucien has been my goal for decades now, but I’ve realised, in recent years, that killing him simply isn’t enough. I need to break him down. I need to turn him into an empty husk of himself before I shove that stake through his heart.”

“The original plan was to use the S.B.E.F to hunt him until there wasn’t a safe corner on this earth for him to hide. But then you stepped into the picture. Imagine my surprise when Melody reported back that Lucien has an accomplice and that he’d gone to great lengths to keep you alive. And a human one at that. Though, of course, Melody and Todd weren’t aware of that little tidbit.” Warren’s close-mouthed grin widens, stretching his cheeks into pointed peaks. “As I said, you were not part of the plan, but it’s become clear to me that Lucien is, shall we say, fond of you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie.

Warren snorts. “Sure you don’t. Either way, I’m going to kill you. In front of him. I’m going to make him watch as the light disappears from your eyes and you choke on your own blood. And then I’m going to torture him for a decade or so, or for as long as it takes for your body to decompose in the room I’ll lock him in. Whichever is shorter. And then,” he says triumphantly, “and only then, once I’m certain he’s at his absolute lowest, will I put him out of his misery.”

What.

The.

Fuck.

This man is insane. Utterly and completely insane.

I eye the door behind him. Could I get to it before he got to me? Even if I did, where would I go? I don’t even know where I am right now. Is Lucien even in the building?

“You know,” Warren says suddenly, “it’s really quite lucky that you revealed yourself when you did. I was this close—” He holds up two fingers, leaving less than a millimetre of space between them. “To killing your friend—The pretty one who turned up at your home. Daphne, I think her name is.”

My blood runs cold. “What?”

Warren’s eyes glint with cruel satisfaction as he watches my reaction. “I was getting tired of waiting for you two to reveal yourselves,” he says, his tone almost casual. “But, luckily for her, it wasn’t necessary in the end.”

The cold fury that erupts inside me is like a storm breaking free. I feel a surge of anger so intense that it nearly overrides the dizziness and fog that still lingers at the edge of my consciousness.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” I manage to spit out. “If you lay a finger on her, I swear?—”

Warren’s thin, unsettling smile widens, revealing a set of teeth that has me reeling backward. He doesn’t have fangs. Instead, his teeth have been filed down into neat, rectangular shapes—little squares that gleam in the harsh light of the room. The sight of those unnaturally even teeth sends a shiver down my spine.

Lucien said that there was something off about the pinpricks on Cathy Corrigan’s neck, didn’t he? The last piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Raven,” Warren says. “Daphne is no longer part of my plans. She was simply a tool to get to you. And since you’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

The relief that flows through me now that Daphne is safe is fleeting and is replaced almost immediately by a white-hot determination. I’m not going to just sit here and wait for Warren to carry out his twisted plans. If he wants to kill me, he’s going to have to work for it.

A sense of déjà vu washes over me, but I push it aside and let the surge of adrenaline consume me as I lunge toward the door.

Warren’s eyes widen in alarm, and I feel a fleeting sense of satisfaction at having caught him off guard. But then his hand shoots out, and I’m bitterly reminded that, despite his frail appearance, Warren is still a vampire. He catches me by the collar of Lucien’s coat and yanks me backward like a kid absentmindedly tossing a rag doll across the room.

I let out a hoarse cry as my head smacks against the cold tiled floor with a sickening thud. My vision swirls, and for a brief moment, everything goes black. No. No. Not like this.

Every bone in my body screams in protest as I fight through the pain and push myself up again. “This isn’t going to work,” I croak, and then wince immediately. Shit. I can taste blood. That can’t be good. “You can’t just?—”

Warren rolls his eyes and crouches down until he’s only an inch or so away from my face. “You can fight me all you want, Raven. If it’ll make you feel better, I don’t even mind letting you run around the building for the next hour or so. But this is going to end just like I’ve planned it.” He presses a long, cool finger against my forehead and pushes me backward with more strength than someone as frail-looking as he is should be capable of.

“You are going to die,” Warren continues. “And Lucien is?—”

The door suddenly flies off its hinges and rattles to the floor. Warren’s twisted smile quickly fades as Lucien’s figure fills the doorway. Melody hurries in after him, her crossbow raised high in the air. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see the damn weapon.

Lucien scans the room, eyes wide and frantic. His entire body is taut with tension and rage. I think back to how furious he’d seemed back at my apartment with Melody and Todd just days ago. This is a thousand times more extreme. His lips are curled back, his eyes are flashing with anger, and his entire body seems to ripple with rage.

Then he spots me. “Raven.” He breathes my name like he was afraid he’d never get the chance to say it again. “Are you alright?”

Despite everything, I manage a teary smile. “I’ll live.”

Relief, clear as day, washes over Lucien’s face, but it’s short-lived. Warren, seemingly unfazed by the sudden intrusion, clears his throat. “Now, Raven,” he says, wagging a finger in my face. “Don’t forget, I’ve got big plans for you and, sadly, living isn’t one of them.”

Lucien’s head snaps up. “Warren?”

Warren grins, and I shudder at the sight of those unnaturally square teeth again. I don’t know what it says about me that fangs would be preferable right now.

Warren gives Lucien an over-exaggerated bow. “Sire. It’s been a while.”

“Sire?” Melody says, frowning deeply. “Did you just—Boss? What’s going on?”

“Boss?” Lucien parrots, looking just as confused as Melody. “This is your boss? Warren is the head of the S.B.E.F.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Warren says with a dismissive wave of his bony hands. “We’ve already gone through this. I’m leading the S.B.E.F. I’m the one behind all of this. And yes, Melody, I am a vampire. Blah. Blah. Blah.”

Melody nearly drops her crossbow. “I’m sorry. What the fuck?”

“I second that sentiment,” Lucien says.

Warren sighs like any of this makes any sense whatsoever and we’re all just being unreasonably difficult. “I’m sure you’ll piece it together eventually. Or not. I don’t care either way.”

“This is ridiculous,” Melody says, shaking her head. “He’s not a vampire. Obviously. I’d know if he was. We’re the S.B.E.F. for God’s sake, a vampire has most definitely not been leading us for the last two years.”

Warren lets out another high-pitched cackle. “And what a lovely two years it’s been, Melody. I’ll give you this: you’re much more competent than Todd, but even you were simple enough to fool.” He grins widely, and Lucien immediately recoils.

“What have you done to your fangs?” Lucien says. He sounds genuinely horrified. “How have you been feeding?”

“I haven’t,” Warren snaps, and his demeanour suddenly changes entirely. “That’s the whole point, dear Sire.”

Lucien winces at the blatant hatred dripping from Warren’s tone. “I know that it’s always been a difficult adjustment for you, but I never imagined—Warren. You have to trust me when I say that I never knew you were struggling to this extent.”

“Save it,” Warren says sharply. “I’ve heard it all before.”

“But how have you even survived this long if you’ve not been feeding properly?”

“Animals mostly,” Warren admits. “I’ve become quite the hunter, actually. It’s not ideal, but it staves off the hunger.”

Clearly not enough. Warren’s sickly appearance suddenly makes a lot of sense. I won’t pretend to understand the biological needs of vampires, but the difference between Warren and Lucien is striking. There’s obviously some kind of nutrient they get from feeding from humans that animals just don’t have.

I think Lucien comes to the same conclusion because he shakes his head and gives Warren a look that is so filled with sadness, guilt, and regret, it nearly breaks my heart. “You can’t live like that.”

“I don’t care,” Warren snaps. “And I certainly don’t want to hear it from you. I’ve had enough of this.” He points a long, accusing finger at Lucien. “You cannot possibly begin to comprehend the pain you’ve inflicted on me. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to become a monster.”

“You don’t have to be a monster,” Lucien tries to interrupt.

“Enough,” Warren bellows. “You don’t get to talk. Not anymore. You, Lucien Valcouron, are finally going to know what pain feels like.”

Several things happen at once. Warren turns to me, a manic smile stretching across his lips. Pure, unbridled hatred gleams in his eyes as he reaches for me. I scramble back as far as I can, which isn’t very far at all given I’m already pressed up against the wall.

Melody raises her crossbow and pulls the trigger. The stake sails through the air and only just narrowly misses Warren’s head. Sadly. Instead, it wedges itself into the wall and sends a flurry of dust flying into my face.

Melody starts to reload as fast as she can, but her hands won’t stop shaking, so she fumbles with the next stake and it clatters to the floor.

And Lucien...

“No! Don’t touch her!” he roars, before moving quicker than I thought possible. It’s beyond superhuman, the speed at which he launches himself across the room at Warren and tackles him to the ground.

The entire room shakes as they land.

A low growl rumbles deep in Lucien’s chest. “You need to stop this madness, Warren. I know you’re hurting, but you don’t have to let the darkness consume you like this. We can find another way.”

Warren struggles to get out of Lucien’s vice like grip, but he doesn’t budge whatsoever. “Don’t talk to me about darkness,” he hisses. “You have no idea the depths of despair I've plummeted to since you turned me into this…this abomination.” His voice cracks with raw emotion. “I didn’t want this. You should’ve left me to die.”

“I—” Lucien’s grip falters for just a second, but it’s all Warren needs. He rolls out from underneath Lucien and snatches up the stake Melody dropped earlier.

“I wanted you to know true pain,” Warren snarls before jerking his head in my direction. “But I’ll take destroying you as a happy close second.” He lunges for Lucien, stake pointed directly at his heart.

Lucien stumbles backward, and Warren shoves him to the floor. The stake is just inches away from his heart. One good push and this will all be over.

“No!” I cry out, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. I can feel the telltale signs of an episode coming on, but I push through it. I can’t let it end like this. Lucien can’t die.

I reach for the stake embedded in the wall behind me and yank it out. My heartbeat gets more and more erratic with each passing second, my vision starts to blur, and I feel that creeping sensation of numbness crawling up my body.

I push through it all.

A guttural scream tears through my throat as I launch myself across the room. Everyone freezes. Lucien. Warren. Melody. Their eyes are all on me.

“What’re you—” Warren begins, eyes wide. But that’s all he has the chance to get out. He spots the stake in my hand and tries to scramble backward off of Lucien, but Lucien grabs hold of his ankle and holds him steady.

“Stop!” Warren cries. “Stop! I’m ordering you to?—”

His demand fizzles out into a gargled gasp as I drive the stake directly through the spot where his heart should be.

“No,” he wheezes. “No, this isn’t?—”

Lucien lets go of his ankle and Warren clatters to the floor.

“I didn’t—This wasn’t—” His eyes start to go glossy. “You,” he hisses as he lifts a shaky finger and points it at me.

I brace myself for what I’m sure is about to be a flurry of curses hurled in my direction, but then his expression clears. The look of pain and anger on his face is replaced by an almost serene kind of smile.

“Thank you,” he whispers. Warren’s body slumps to the ground, and then he’s gone.