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Night Vengeance

Chapter Seventeen

Stanley wandered around the room, giving Salazar time to view the file; he was awestruck by the opulence surrounding him. A small strange crystal beckoned him and he strolled over to the bookcase. Fingering it, he looked over his shoulder to see if Salazar was watching, he wasn't.

So he picked it up and held it in his hands. A combination of cold dread and comforting warmth enveloped him. The strange crystal began to pulse and a tiny light appeared within its center.

As he stared at the light, a quick picture flashed through his mind. It was of Salazar, covered in blood; mutilated and dead bodies surrounded him, in his arms was a woman who looked familiar, but he couldn't place her face. There were tears streaking down her cheeks and blood on her neck.

Then he looked into the Salazar image's eyes and was helpless to resist the pull of its gaze. He took a step to join them but his foot wouldn't move. He looked down and gasped in fright to see a hand manacled to his ankle. His eyes traveled from the hand to the arm, then the shoulder, and finally his gaze settle on the face.

His eyes widened as he saw his boss, Justin Knight. Suddenly his boss's eyes popped open and stared right at him. "Why?" his raspy voice asked.

Stanley was jerked out of the strange dream when a hand snatched the crystal from his. He opened his eyes and stepped back when he saw Salazar's glowing red eyes staring at him.

"Don't ever touch this again!" Salazar growled as he turned and reverently replaced the crystal on the shelf of the bookcase.

Stanley backed away some more and dropped his eyes to the carpet. "Uh…sorry, didn't mean to touch. Won't ever happen again. So…um… the file, was it what you wanted?" he hurriedly asked.

Salazar had to restrain himself from separating Stanley's head from his shoulders because he still needed him. He'd changed his mind about replacing Mr. Leeds, so once Mr. Parks usefulness was over, then so would his life.

"Yes, it was what I wanted," he said. "You have done well. You must go back to Knight Industries now, keep your eyes and ears open for anything that would interest me concerning the woman in this file," continued Salazar as he walked to the bell pull and pulled on it.

A door opened and Mr. Leeds appeared.

"Mr. Parks is leaving, please show him out Mr. Leeds," said Salazar.

Mr. Leeds bowed, "Yes sir." He turned and ushered Mr. Parks out of the room.

Stanley sat in his car and wondered what the hell he was doing here. He was on a road in the middle of nowhere; there wasn't even a house in sight. He looked at his watch and saw it was six in the morning; the sun was just beginning to rise. His mind was fuzzy as he tried to remember what he'd been doing for the last two hours. Shaking his head, he started his car and drove away. At the moment there was nothing he could do about his memory lapses, but work began at nine, and he needed to be there.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Justin rose with Rae in his arms, keeping his promise that she no longer awaken in the earth. He laid her on the bed and kissed her awake.

Rae opened her eyes and smiled. Her arms circled his neck and their kiss deepened. Justin had just touched her breasts when a knock sounded on the door.

Justin groaned, "If that's Devon, I'm going to tie him to a stake in the front of the building and watch him burn with the sun," he growled, frustrated at being interrupted.

Rae giggled and pulled the sheet over her head as Justin got up and answered the door.

"What is it?" he asked as he pulled the door open.

Garrett stood on the other side, "Is that what you're going to be wearing from now on? Nothing?" he asked, grinning.

Justin looked down at his obvious arousal and blushed; behind him Rae couldn't contain herself, and burst out laughing. Justin shot a glowering look behind him then turned back to Garrett.

"What do you want Garrett?" he growled as he stepped behind the door, hiding himself.

Garrett chuckled, "Devon asked me to give you this before he left," he said as he gave him a piece of paper.

Justin frowned, "Left? Left for where?" he asked, puzzled.

Garrett shrugged, "He didn't say. He just said to give you that," he pointed to the piece of paper in Justin's hand.

Justin nodded, "Thanks," he said and closed the door.

As he walked back to the bed and Rae, Justin opened the paper, read and cursed. "I'm going to strangle him!" he growled as he crumpled the paper in his fist.

"What? What's going on Justin?" Rae asked as she stuck her head out from under the sheet.

"It's Devon, he's gone after Salazar, alone," he explained as he wave a hand and became clothed in a black t-shirt and jeans.

Rae paled, "Oh lord, he didn't?" she said as she got out of bed and clothed herself in the same manner.

"Yeah, he did, the idiot," sighed Justin. Concern for his friend's life was evident in his voice.

He grabbed the second I.V. bag from the floor, warmed it, and tossed it to Rae. "Here, drink this. We won't have time to feed on the way," he said.

Rae drank half the bag and tossed it back to Justin for him to drink too. Justin tried to make her drink it all, but she stood firm.

"You need your strength too. So drink, otherwise I'll weave a binding spell and you won't be going anywhere," she threatened.

Justin gave in and drank the remaining blood, then they both shimmered. Once in the sky they shapeshifted into hawks and flew as fast as they could, trying to head off Devon before he confronted Salazar on his own.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Devon landed gently on the ground, shapeshifting back into his human form in the field behind the house he'd learned Mr. Leeds had bought a month ago. He scanned the area searching for hidden traps but could detect nothing. Slowly he advanced, keeping his senses alert.

Suddenly, huge, skeletal birds swooped down from the sky; their sharp talons ready to dig into his flesh. Devon shimmered, disappearing from under them. He reappeared and flung ice balls at them. Encased in ice, the skeletal birds fell from the sky, and shattered upon impact with the ground.

Devon looked at the house, "Is that all you got Salazar?" he yelled. "I thought you were more powerful than that!" he said, challenging the vampire.

The ground shook and roots from the trees that surrounded the field sprung up, trying to wrap around his body. Devon immediately fashioned a machete out of thin air and began hacking at them. One sneaky root came up behind him and wrapped itself around his throat. The machete fell to the ground as Devon grabbed the root with his both hands and pulled on it. The remaining roots instantly encircled him, draining his strength, and he lost consciousness.

 

©2006 Romance at Heart Magazine.

©2000 Angel Young.

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