55: A Stroke of Luck – Pt. 3

“Where is he?” Victoria growled as she stormed through the doors of Rowan’s home. Ignoring the handful of vampires standing in the foyer hissing at her she continued forward, she stopped just in the middle of the room. “Derrick, get your ass out here now!”

“That’s as far as you go,” Marcel snapped, pushing the detective away from the French doors leading to his master’s private chambers.

Victoria looked down at his hands still grasping her arms and slowly made eye contact with the muscular demon. “Get your fucking hands off of me,” she rumbled, pushing against him.

“That’ll be all, Marcel,” Rowan’s English accent announced his arrival from the back room as he dismissed his bodyguard. With a wave of his hand, he cleared the foyer of the others before finally resting his eyes on Victoria. “Well, well, well. This is indeed a surprise. After our last encounter I didn’t expect to have the pleasure of seeing you again anytime soon,” he smirked, rolling his tongue over his fangs as he gave her the once over. “You look very lovely.”

“Bite me!”

“Mmm, just say where, Luv,” Rowan smirked and let his eyes slowly explore every inch of her body.

“This isn’t a social call, Rowan,” she sighed in frustration.

“As I’d gathered, Victoria,” he replied with just as much bite and watched as she folded her arms into her chest. “Tell me, how may I be of assistance?”

“Where’s Derrick?”

“And you think I know this why? I am not Derrick’s keeper.”

“No. You’re his Sire. And from what I know about your kind, you have a telepathic connection to those you turn. I know you can find him or already know his present location. Now, I asked nicely the first time, don’t make me repeat myself.”

Rowan’s smirk curled deeper and he took a step to the side. For the first time, Victoria was able to get a clear view of the room behind him and gasped on sight. Lying on the floor beside a couch were two bodies, both female and both unconscious. Large pools of blood had formed around their heads and even more splattered the walls and ceiling. Someone had ravaged those poor women; draining them to the very brink and leaving them to die. “Go ahead,” Rowan whispered in Victoria’s ear as she continued staring. “This is, after all, what you came for.”

Cautiously, Victoria moved forward, stepping over another body just inside the door. The smell of iron was acrid and strong. Flies buzzed around a few of the corpses and she quickly covered her mouth and nose to keep from inhaling the stench of rotting flesh. From her view outside the door, Victoria couldn’t fully take in the carnage. But now, standing in the very center of the death room she could see there were more than four victims and even more bloodshed than she thought. She turned and looked up at Rowan as he shut the doors behind him. “What is this?” she demanded, clenching her fists at her side.

“This? This is what happens when you suppress your true nature. This is the result of a century’s long denial and deprival of what our kind severely craves. I stood here and I watched as my protégé gorged himself on one vein after the next, desperately seeking to slake his thirst.”

“Derrick did this?”

“Who else?” Rowan chuckled loudly as Victoria shifted her weight on her feet. “What’s the matter? Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“What I wanted? How can you say that? I never wanted any of…this! What did you do to him?”

“ME?!” he exclaimed, taking a solitary step in her direction, tutting his tongue at her. “Sorry, my dear Victoria, try again. Derrick’s unraveling had nothing to do with me. In fact, his descent into darkness is a direct consequence of your love for him.” Victoria stared at the blonde confused and angry. “I must admit I’ve dreadfully desired to see my old chum back in the saddle once more. And now, I have you to thank for that. Had I known your blood would make him remember who he was, I’d have slit you open for him to feed ages ago.”

“My…my blood did this?”

Rowan’s gaze narrowed on her while he determined whether or not Victoria was being straightforward. Convinced she was telling the truth and her bemusement was in fact genuine, he leaned against the wall beside the fireplace and watched her take it all in. “You really have no idea what you are, do you? A babe in the woods and surrounded on all sides by monsters from the deepest recesses of hell.”

“Where’s Derrick now?”

Rowan shrugged. “Someplace where he can get what he needs. But, you shouldn’t concern yourself with that. If I were you, I’d worry more about my own family and the words yet remaining unspoken.”

A door opened behind her and in stepped several vampires. All of them red-eyed and glaring at her as she struggled to keep herself composed, glancing again around the room. Derrick did this? If she could believe what Rowan was saying, he’d gone completely off the reservation. And for the first time she found herself grateful for having magic. The night Derrick attacked her could have gone much differently if not for her family’s secret. Seeing the extremes of which he was capable was truly frightening. 

“There’s a change in the air, Victoria, for the first time in nearly a century. You’ll want to decide very quickly which side you’re on.”

She felt the room grow smaller as the group of demons encircled her, moving at Rowan’s instruction. “VENTUS!” Without a second thought she enchanted a spell sending the room into upheaval as a heavy gust of wind exploded around her. “Volant into ad parietem!” Bodies flew fast and hard, colliding with every fixed surface in the room and clearing her path towards the door. 

“You grow stronger every day,” Rowan groaned, clutching his side as he felt his broken ribs begin to mend.

“I’m a babe in the woods, remember? There are people I need to protect myself from. And ensnares I need to fight against,” she replied, motioning towards his arcane crystals which had failed to restrain her magic this time. “Aperite.” The French doors beside Rowan opened and Victoria stepped over him and calmly exited his home.

“Hey partner,” Mike smiled at the approaching Victoria. “I was beginning to think I was working alone today.”

“I’m sorry about that,” she replied, returning the grin while she handed him his favorite dark roast from Starbucks. “I had something I needed to take care of. I left you a message.”

Mike glanced at the blinking red light on the house phone on the corner of his desk and rubbed the back of his neck with a light chuckle. “So you did. But you know better than anyone I never could operate those things. Hell I don’t even think I set up the voicemail!”

“You didn’t so I did it for you using your cell phone’s recording. We can’t have potential clients calling and unable to reach one of us, Mikey.” Victoria made her way over to her desk, placing her bag behind her chair and her Frappuccino beside her keyboard. “So. What’s on the agenda today?”

“Um…”

“Me!” Both detectives turned their attention towards the door and the person who had interrupted their train of thought. “Is this what you two have been doing this whole time? Sitting around sipping cappuccinos while my life and the lives of my family hangs in the balance?” Aidan Byrne stepped into the middle of the room, looking back and forth between them. “One day. You have ONE day to get this done or else, I’m toast.”

“I assure you, Mr. Byrne, my partner and I have been working around the clock on your case. You gave us three days and in that time, we believe we have narrowed down a suspect given the impractical description you provided,” Mike replied in his most calming tone.

“It would help us tremendously if you were able to deny or confirm our suspicions,” Victoria added, standing and moving towards him with her grimoire clutched in her hand. “Is this the person that attacked you?” she asked, showing him the image of the Fawnling.

“Yes! That’s him! That’s the creature that stole my property,” Aidan replied excitedly. “Have you located him?”

“We’ve hit on a few possible locations he could be hiding.”

“That’s great! When can I expect delivery?”

“My partner is making plans to hunt this Fawnling down as soon as possible. We should have him and/or your properties in our possession by midday tomorrow,” Mike answered, glancing at Victoria before resuming eye contact with the client.

“Great! I’ll let my family know they should start packing then. Thanks again for your help. I’ll await your phone call.”

Since Mike had gone home, it left the place quiet. A little too quiet. The quiet in some ways was comforting. It gave her a moment’s rest from the crazy day she’d been having. But in other ways, the quiet was troubling. The quiet pronounced the noticeably missing sound of Derrick’s voice and it left her too much time to think. “Fuck it.” Grabbing her keys, Victoria turned on the alarm, shut off the lights and locked the door. If Derrick wasn’t coming to her, she was going to him. 

Getting in had been relatively easy. She sat for a moment and watched a few people enter first and simply mimicked what they did. Gradually, Victoria made her way towards the backroom, avoiding the blood-craved stares of several vampires as she did. It was times like these she was happy to have her specially designed bullets. Although from the looks of tonight’s crowd, they might prove useless. Just breathe. “Perry,” she smiled as she safely made it to the entrance leading to the VIP lounge. “I’m looking for Derrick, is he in?”

“He is. However, I’m afraid I can’t let you back there, Miss Victoria.”

“What? Why not? I’ve been back there before.”

“Accompanied and supervised,” he replied glancing around the room before meeting her gaze once more. “I’m afraid that is not the case now.”

“I know but—I need to speak with Derrick, Perry, it’s important.”

“All well and good, Miss Victoria, but as I’ve stated, you cannot go back there. Have you tried calling?”

“Are you serious?”

“I don’t joke, Miss Victoria, it’s not in my job description.”

“WAIT YOUR FUCKING TURN!” She heard someone shout over her shoulder. The screaming quickly caught Perry’s attention as a couple of Dante’s patrons began a shoving match which was promptly turning into a brawl.

“Excuse me a moment,” he sighed and hurried towards the action. She waited until his attention was completely occupied before quietly slipping behind the red ropes and rushing to the back.

Entering the lounge, Victoria soon found herself immersed in a shockingly erotic display. The scene appeared cut from some late night porno and she couldn’t help but gawk at the multitude of Dante’s clientele filtered around the room. Derrick wasn’t joking when he said he catered to a more cultivated crowd, and now Victoria was seeing behind the curtains.

Stepping around a vampire couple sharing veins on the couch beside the door, she continued scanning the room in search of a familiar face. Finally, she spotted him seated in one of the private booths near the back, but he wasn’t alone. Hurrying forward, she tried her best to ignore the many sexual exhibitions, finding it difficult as each screech of orgasmic pleasure rumbled throughout the room. Looking up, Derrick’s eyes instantly fixed on hers, locking her in place beside a leather-clad couple taking turns whipping one another.

A cold chill swept over her as he continued holding her captive; like prey trapped in the jaws of a predator. The woman on his left whispered something in his ear that turned his gaze towards her finally releasing Victoria from his spell. And she continued watching as the second woman beside him retrieved what she could only assume to be a glass of blood from the table and hand it to him. 

But after he took a sip of the dark red liquid and turned to the woman for a little kiss, she forced her eyes away and took a breath. Anger replaced shock and she moved forward in a few swift steps. “Having fun?” she asked, allowing her temper to get the better of her.

“I was,” he replied without looking up. “What do you want?”

“To talk.”

“How’d you get in here?”

“I remembered the secret handshake,” Victoria replied sarcastically, crossing her arms into her chest. Ignoring her, he leaned over and whispered something in the ear of the woman to his right, making her laugh. Victoria yanked his shoulder, pulling him away from the eager, half-dressed, blonde blood bank and watched as the drink in his hand spilled all over her.

Derrick growled and instantly looked up as he snatched his arm from Victoria’s grasp and stood. Motioning with his head, she started for one of the rooms just right of a showcase booth; more exhibitionists. She entered first, pacing the small space between a bed and hutch containing all manners of sex toys as he shut the door. Noticing her eyeing the ensemble of dildos, whips and gags he smirked and threw his arm around an inflatable doll before addressing her. “What can I say? I aim to please.”

Victoria bit her cheek to neutralize her reaction to his quip and took a step back. “So I guess asking if you’re feeling better than you were the other night is moot.”

“Actually, I feel great and you didn’t have to come by for that; you could have called.”

“You weren’t answering.”

“Which tells you what? Look I’m not in the mood for a pity party or any of that self-loathing I smell fanning off of you like flies over shit. Blame yourself, blame Rowan, hell blame the universe for all I care. Just do it someplace else. Everything is fine here and I have a party to get back to. Thanks for stopping by.”

“So that’s it then? You’re really just gonna walk away? Turn your back on your promises and what? Resume a lifetime of loneliness and self-gratifying deeds?”

“It hasn’t failed me yet.” The door opened behind him, redirecting Victoria’s attention momentarily. “Occupied,” Derrick tossed over his shoulder without turning around. 

“I can see that,” a dark haired vampire replied with a slight rasp to his voice. He had bright blue eyes and was dressed in a dark gray, pen-striped suit with a ginger pocket square and matching shirt. He wolf-whistled as he eyed Victoria up and down and took a step forward. “Let me know when you’re done with that one. I’d love to have a taste.”

“You have 5 seconds to walk away.” Again Derrick spoke without ever turning to face the intruder. 

“Chill, alright? It was meant as a compliment,” blue eyes replied, trying his best to sound calm. Derrick’s hands balled into fists at his side and Victoria watched as his eyes burned with unmitigated rage. And before she had the chance to blink, Derrick had acted. Snatching the man inside the room, he violently threw him against the wall. 

“Time’s up.” A sneer curled his lip as the veins beside his eyes throbbed beneath his skin. And Derrick’s snarling face became the last thing he saw. Slamming the door shut with the man’s head, Victoria stood in rigid horror as Derrick nearly decapitated him with a single swiping motion across his throat. And as the man fell, Derrick pounced on him, continuing the violent assault. Fist after fist pulverized the man’s face and upper chest until he was no longer moving and both his attacker and the floor beneath him were covered in blood.

Derrick stood and calmly wiped his hands on the man’s orange handkerchief, looking very satisfied with himself. “You’re out of your fucking mind!” Derrick’s bright red glare shot towards her and Victoria took a deep breath to maintain her composure. Anger flashed briefly in his eyes and Victoria scoffed, shook her head and stepped around him. But he caught her before she took another step and whipped her around to face him. “Let go of me!”

“Or what? Huh? Gonna use your magic on me again? Go on. Give it a try, Victoria. Immerse me in flames and see how easily you get out of here,” he taunted, nearly laughing at her frail attempt to pull away from his grip. “You’re in the back room in a club full of blood-thirsty monsters and if you think for a second they’ll hesitate to rip your throat out, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Is that a fact?” he asked, screwing his lips up in a smile. He slowly released his hold on her but continued standing between her and the door.

“Ask Rowan if it’s a fact.” The mention of his Sire’s name caused Derrick’s eyebrow to flinch and Victoria continued. “I saw what you did. All those people, Derrick. This can’t be who you are now. There has to be a way to save you; to return you to…normal.”

“I don’t want to be saved, Victoria! For once in a very long time, I am enjoying myself. I forgot how much fun feeding could be. The feeling of tearing into a steady, throbbing vein is liberating,” he paused and narrowed his gaze at her. “What’s that look for? You can’t honestly tell me you’re sad that lapdog of a man is gone. And considering how much you enjoyed our sex games, I know you don’t completely loathe this side of me. Tell me you’re not looking forward to it now.” 

“As if I’d let you touch me…”

“As if I’d give you the choice? I’m a soulless, self-centered prick who couldn’t care less about the world or the people in it, remember? It’s who I am, Victoria. It’s who I’ve always been. I’M A FUCKING DEMON!” he shouted, throwing his hands up and backing away slightly. “And you can choose to deny it all you want but sooner or later you’ll have to face facts. The Derrick you knew is gone and I am all that remains.”

“No. You’re sick and you need help whether you admit it or not. And as far as what happened at my place, the things you said…I guess I just needed to know for sure where I stood.”

“Well, now you know.”

“Yeah. Now I do,” she sighed and moved towards the door. “I’m not giving up on you, Derrick. Even if you’ve given up on yourself. If there’s a way, I’ll find it.”

“Good luck.”

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*Author's note: I know it's been a while since a real update, and I apologize for that. Whenever I think I'm on top of things, something else pops up and gives me a fat slap of reality. Recently my Mom moved in with me and my husband. She's been bed-bound for nearly three years and needs a lot of assistance with daily living. It's been a real struggle and has left very little time for anything else. I don't want to make promises about when I'll update because to be honest, I have no idea when I'll find the time to. I won't abandon any of my stories. And I will continue working on them as much as I can whenever possible. I appreciate everyone for understanding and thank you for sticking it out with me through everything. :)*

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