Blood Candy Read online

  “Hey,” Jimmy said weakly. “What took you so long?”

  Candy let out a relieved laugh as tears filled her eyes. She ran her hands gently through his hair to check for wounds. Everything seemed okay. The moment was cut short when gunfire erupted upstairs.

  “Shit,” Melvin said while he worked frantically at the knots.

  Felicia screamed. Candy turned in time to see her crash into the wall next to the door, but she didn’t see anyone else in the room. Melvin tried to pick up his gun but he crumpled to the floor clutching his gut when someone dashed out from the shadows at the back of the room. Candy whirled around on the attacker.

  “Been expecting you, love.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Blake was nowhere to be seen, but Candy didn’t have time to think about that as Rupert snatched the paintball gun out of her hands.

  “What’s this?” he said. He pointed the gun at Jimmy and shot him in the chest. Jimmy yelled and cursed.

  “Interesting,” Rupert said, laughing. “Here I was worried about this band of Misfits and then they come in here with toys.”

  He threw the gun to the ground and then lunged at Candy, pulling her into his arms. She screamed and tried to move. He was too fast.

  “I like those tight pants you have on. Shows your ass off nicely,” he said.

  Jimmy struggled in the chair. “Let her go!”

  Rupert ignored him and smelled her hair, making sure Jimmy saw him doing it.

  “You smell so bloody good,” Rupert said. “I want to drink you right here in front of your little boyfriend. And then, for all of the trouble you’ve put me through, I’m going to make you watch when I kill him for what he did to my brother.”

  Jimmy strained against the rope binding him to the chair. Candy saw the rage in his eyes, the fear etched all over his face. He didn’t deserve anymore abuse.

  “Please don’t,” Candy begged. “I’ll do anything. I’ll be yours, just let them go.”

  “Let them go? What about the wolves running a mess up in my house? Doubt they plan to let anyone go.”

  Candy heard the POP sound of a paintball gun and Rupert’s eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open and when he turned several damp spots on the back of his shirt sent steaming flesh into the air. Felicia steadied herself onto a knee and took aim.

  POP – POP – POP – POP.

  Rupert howled so loudly and so maddeningly that Candy had to clasp her ears. Jimmy struggled against his bonds, yelling for her to get her gun. She picked it up and joined in with Felicia, sending a hail of holy water balls at the wounded vampire. Rupert streaked out of the room, screaming and clutching his face.

  “Get me untied!”

  Candy tried to untie Jimmy but her hands shook too much. Felicia rushed over, keeping her gun trained on the door while Candy fumbled with the knots. Melvin stumbled up to his feet, his face contorted.

  “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted Blake,” he grunted.

  Finally, Candy untied Jimmy from the chair and helped steady him. The lights went out, covering the room in complete darkness.

  “We have to get out of this house,” Felicia said.

  Candy hadn’t noticed before, but there had been a hum of machinery in the basement. Now that everything was silent she heard better the commotion upstairs. A man screamed. It sounded like he was dying. There came more sounds of breaking glass and cracking wood from the other side of the ceiling.

  “We’re sitting ducks in the dark,” Felicia said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  As soon as she said that, they heard the sound of chains running across metal and wood coming from the cellar door they had used to get into the mansion. Someone had locked them in. Thankfully, Felicia and Melvin had flashlights. Melvin ran to check on the cellar door while Candy and Felicia helped Jimmy along.

  When Melvin came back to them he said, “We have to get to those doors upstairs. It shouldn’t be far from the stairs.”

  Felicia nodded. Candy didn’t like the distinct and sudden lack of noise as they headed through the door towards the wine cellar. “What happened?” she said. “Where’s the pack?”

  “I don’t know,” Felicia said, her voice ragged, laced with alarm as she took deep breaths. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  They slowly made their way into the wine cellar. Tall racks lined the walls, most of them wooden and filled with dusty bottles. Melvin pointed his flashlight up the dark stairwell. The door to the main level hung open. They paused, their rasping breaths in the stifling cellar the only sound.

  “What pack are you talking about?” Jimmy said. He was confident he could walk on his own, though he was still very weak. “Did Tinch get help?”

  “Yes. The Alpha,” Melvin whispered.

  “The Alpha? He’s here?” Jimmy looked back up the stairs. “What’s going on, then?”

  “There were a lot of vampires and guards with guns,” Candy said.

  “They probably retreated into the yard where they have more room,” Felicia said.

  “We need to get out of here,” Melvin said. “Rupert could be anywhere.”

  He lowered his flashlight, handed it to Jimmy, and then moved forward onto the first step. He crept up the stairs, taking it one step at a time. Candy did her best to keep her breathing calm and easy. When Melvin reached the top he took a quick glance through the door and then he waved everyone up. When they reached the top, Felicia quickly pointed her flashlight through a kitchen before she muffled it with her hand.

  “Which way?” she said.

  Candy had been here before, at least near here. She put her hand on Felicia’s shoulder to stop her. Yes, in the dream with Rupert they had been in a hallway on the other side. That was where she saw the glass doors to the backyard.

  “There’s a hallway ahead,” Candy whispered. “The doors are in a room to the right.”

  Candy took cautious steps next to Jimmy. He had his flashlight turned off and the only thing she had to guide her was the faint traces of moonlight against stainless steel appliances. Still, all was eerily silent. Jimmy flicked his flashlight on again to get a bearing of where they were. Candy screamed at the bloody mess of what had once been a vampire on the floor. Jimmy clasped his hand over her mouth and pulled her into his arms.

  “Keep moving,” Melvin said. The dark hallway loomed ahead.

  Felicia yelled out in pain as her flashlight went spinning across the tiled floor, briefly revealing a pair of feet before it winked out with a crunch. Jimmy held his hand in front of Candy. Their panicked breaths filled the room along with Felicia’s whimpering. Jimmy pointed his flashlight at the wounded hand she was clutching; there were three deep, bleeding gouges on the back. Someone was out there in the darkness.

  “Let us pass,” Melvin called out. “There doesn’t need to be any more bloodshed.”

  “Blood I like,” boomed a heavy Russian accent.

  “Oh, shit.”

  Jimmy pointed his flashlight into the hallway. Meatrack stood there, menacing in his immense size and nasty demeanor. Candy briefly found herself wondering where a man his size could get a button up shirt and pants that fit. The Russian took a step forward to block the exit from the kitchen. Melvin and Felicia trained their guns on him.

  “American make grave mistake,” Meatrack said. “Do not honor debt. I crush you like I crush sissy Blake.”

  Candy let out a hushed whimper, but there was no time to worry about Blake. She tried to remember anything she could, but it had all been too dark in the dream. She looked back into the depths of the kitchen away from the hallway but she couldn’t see anything.

  “The Brits are the dishonorable ones,” Jimmy said. “They’re the ones who don’t honor boundaries. They’re the ones who try to take what doesn’t belong to them.”

  “Stupid American. You think you win Cold War?” Meatrack snarled.

  No one knew what the hell he was talking about.

  “You have nowhere to run,” Rupert said from some
where in the darkness behind them, an edge of tension and urgency on his voice. “This is your last chance. Candy comes with me and then we go our separate ways.”

  Candy turned and pointed her gun into the shadows.

  “No, this is your last chance,” Melvin said, not taking his eyes or gun away from Meatrack. “I’m not bowing down to you motherfuckers anymore. I’m tired of your lies and treachery. There’s a pack of wolves outside right now. Call off your brainless muscle and then we go our separate ways.”

  Meatrack ground his teeth together.

  Rupert laughed, the sound emanating from several points in the darkness before fading away. “My family is in here while your pack is out there among even more vampires. Who’s bluffing, I wonder? You can’t win, lycan. You have ten seconds to hand the girl over.”

  Melvin’s hand slowly moved down to one of the grenades on his belt. Jimmy gave a slight nod. Meatrack, growling like a dog, noticed as well. Candy felt as if her heart was about to explode out of her chest. And then, scaring her nearly out of her mind, a huge white paw darted out from around the corner across Meatrack’s shoulder, claws catching skin and pulling the Russian out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

  Melvin flung the grenade behind him. “Go!”

  Candy didn’t think. She ran towards the hallway, towards the sounds of an animal that should have had her mind reeling with fear, towards Meatrack’s cursing, towards heavy bodies smashing into walls. The flashlight bobbed up and down as they ran. Candy caught a glimpse of Meatrack’s head in the mouth of a polar bear, blood running down sharp teeth. Meatrack pushed forward, crushing White Paul into a wall, cracking it.

  The grenade blasted behind them. A bright light flashed, illuminating everything for a precious few seconds. Rupert yelled.

  “This way,” Melvin said, turning right, away from White Paul and Meatrack. He went a few feet down the hall and then he and Felicia stopped and turned their guns on the Russian. His clothes were shredded and stained red from the blood running down his head. Candy didn’t think it was possible, but he now had the upper hand on White Paul, overpowering the hulking polar bear. White Paul growled, an almost pathetic sound, and tried to bring his mouth down on the huge vampire. Meatrack seized him by the muzzle and clamped it shut.

  Melvin aimed. “Send my love to Russia.”

  Melvin and Felicia held down the triggers on their paintballs guns, the POPs mixing with the sound of the balls breaking against walls, floor and skin. Meatrack bellowed beneath the deluge of holy water as his body began to slowly disintegrate into steam. He tried to cover himself with his arms, his clothing drenched with water and bloody gore. White Paul took the opportunity to grip down hard on the Russian’s head. He swung him back and forth like a ragdoll, neck bones and tendons snapping and popping. With one toss over his shoulder, he sent Meatrack flying down the other end of the hallway.

  Several sets of heavy footfalls resounded in the kitchen. White Paul looked tired and wounded, but he nodded his head. Melvin waved him off, and then the bear limped into the darkness where he had tossed Meatrack.

  “Come on! The doors should be up ahead,” Melvin said.

  Again they ran. Rupert yelled behind them, “Where are you running, love?” Candy and the Misfits came into a living room. Ahead were the two sets of glass doors she had seen from the outside and from the dream, with the deck and the pool beyond. The moon reflected off darkened water, chunks of fleshy gore and random articles of clothing floating in it. With her hand still gripped tightly into Jimmy’s, they made a sprint for it.

  Vivian appeared out of nowhere. The insane British bastard had a bloody claw mark across his white shirt, though the skin beneath didn’t appear torn. His hands hung down at his sides, long fingernails silhouetted against the faint moonlight streaming through the doors. Gavin appeared out of the darkness on Candy’s left.

  Melvin raised his gun. “Get the fuck out of the way!”

  Vivian stuck his chest out, daring Melvin to shoot while laughing maniacally. The next thing Candy knew, there was an iron grip squeezing her throat as she was ripped away from Jimmy. She kicked and tried to scream as someone dragged her back into the darkness. Rupert whispered next to her ear, “Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”

  Candy couldn’t breathe, and what little air she managed to gasp in came with the strong scent of blood on it. Jimmy spun around and fixed the beam of his flashlight on her. Rupert lifted her a couple more inches off the ground.

  “Let her go! I’m going to kill you motherfuckers for what you did to me,” Jimmy said.

  Rupert and Vivian laughed. Gavin took the opportunity to move forward. Felicia spun around and aimed her gun at him. Vivian made his move, causing both Felicia and Melvin to hold down on their triggers. Vivian easily dodged the few paintballs Melvin sprayed at him, and Felicia didn’t fare any better.

  They both ran out of ammo. Candy couldn’t move let alone try to aim her gun.

  “Jig’s up,” Rupert said. “Your little wolf friends are dead by now. If not, the Magister will be arriving shortly to finish them. Once he sees the mess you made here, all of the vampires you killed, he’ll declare war on your whole kind. So do yourself a favor, donkey. Run away as fast as you can. Run away knowing I’m having my way with your girl. Run knowing that soon, very soon, we’ll find you and every other shapeshifter.”

  The room fell into silence. Melvin dropped his gun and took two grenades into his hands, tossing the pins to the side. “Come any closer and I let these go,” he said. Felicia dropped her gun and pulled out two stakes from her belt.

  “What, and blow everyone up?” Rupert laughed. “Those aren’t real, as we’ve already seen. Big bang and a loud flash.”

  “No, these are the real deal.” Melvin took a few steps towards Vivian, who frowned and backed up against the glass doors.

  “They’re not real!” Rupert shouted.

  Vivian only looked half convinced. Gavin stepped out from the shadows towards Felicia.

  “I’ve given you all ample opportunities,” Rupert said. “But now I’m out of patience. Kill them.”

  Gavin moved, almost too fast for anyone to react. Felicia took on some kind of a karate stance she had probably seen in a movie with both stakes in her hands. She wouldn’t be a match for the vampire. Candy yelled and kicked, but it was no use. Rupert was too strong.

  Jimmy turned his flashlight on the fight between Gavin and Felicia. That gave Melvin something to aim at, and he tossed both grenades up in the air. The grenades landed near Gavin’s feet as he stepped forward and slapped a stake out of Felicia’s hand. There were two bangs and then water shot out from the grenades, drenching both Gavin and Felicia all the way up their legs. The vampire screamed and flailed, tendrils of steam pouring out from his pant legs. Felicia struck out with the stake, sinking it with a sickening wet sound deep into his chest. Gavin, his face petrified, crumpled into the wall when the bones in his legs snapped out of the skin. An enormous, flat-panel television fell onto his head, crushing him in a crash of glass and blood.

  “Death by television . . . ,” Felicia whispered in wonder. “Wicked.”

  Vivian clenched his fists. “Yeh’ll pay fer that!”

  Candy gasped, but it wasn’t the remnants of Gavin beneath the television that stole the breath right out of her lungs. Rupert must have seen what she saw too, because his grip on her eased to nothing. Outside, beyond the glass doors, stood the form of a massive, bipedal beast covered in black fur. The monster was so tall it had to crouch down to look in through the doors with red eyes. It had the snout of a wolf full of sharp teeth and its fur was stained with dark blood.

  “Bloody hell,” Rupert gasped.

  Vivian’s face slackened. Before he could turn around the lupine smashed its arms through the glass and sunk dagger long claws into his sides. His mouth opened to scream but the lupine ripped him out of the room before a single sound came out. The beast stood to its full height, concealing its head as well
as everything above Vivian’s knees over the top of the door. A single blood curdling scream filled the night air followed only by the sound of crunching.

  “Holy shit . . . ,” Rupert said. Candy thought the same.

  Vivian’s legs twitched and then he fell headless to the ground. The monster lowered itself back down, its red eyes searching into the room, blood dripping from its chin. A piece of bone fell from the side of its mouth—no, a piece of skull. Felicia and Melvin took steps away from the doors. Gavin twitched, moaning like a helpless cripple. The lupine craned its head in the wounded vampire’s direction and then began to slam its muscled shoulder into the doorframe.

  Everyone ran the other direction.

  Candy’s chest burned as she pushed her legs as fast as she possibly could. Rupert disappeared into the darkness in front of her as she came into a foyer that had a smashed door leading outside. She tripped over something wet before she reached the exit and fell hard onto her chest. The paintball gun went skidding across the floor. Melvin and Felicia didn’t notice and hauled ass outside. Jimmy stopped and went back for her, holding his hand out.

  Rupert appeared out of the shadows. Jimmy went flying into a wall.

  Gavin’s short-lived screams rang out from the back room.

  Rupert pulled Candy up by her hair and wrapped his fingers like a vice around her throat. His screams echoed throughout the house, “You’re all fucking dead! They won’t stop until they find every one of you. Did you think you could come into the house of the most powerful family in America and get away with this?”

  He tightened his grip until Candy felt like her chest was about to explode. Inky darkness crept into the corners of her vision. Rupert’s voice seemed to come from far away, “If I can’t have you, no one can.”

  And then his grip released and Candy fell to her knees. Wonderful air rushed into her lungs. Feeling returned to her extremities and her vision became clear again. Rupert slammed into a wall. Then he moved, swinging out his arm, and Blake went sliding across the floor.