Blood Lust - 30

                              Chapter 30: Raid on Castle B.O.O</u></i>

       The cloaks made Mack and Marick look like Jedi knights. Especially with the dark look that Marick wore on the day we were going to make the attack. It was obvious that he was afraid. Around Saturday morning, he had begun getting all jittery. Today, with the effect of Sunday's influence on them as well as his tentativeness over heading back to Headquarters, one wrong word would set him off.
       He was sitting on his family's couch, lacing up and tying the combat boots he found stashed away in his closet. Underneath the cloak, he wore black skinny jeans and a tight black tee-shirt. Mack was dressed the same. I wore a pair of comfy jeans and a tank top.
       I sat beside him, punching his shoulder reassuringly.
       "It'll be alright, hm? Suck it up, Marick," I told him. He turned his head and glared at me, his piercing black eyes enunciated especially under the hood – which was pulled up over his head.
       "Shut up. You're the one who should be worried. You don't have nothin' but a knife to defend you, hm? We got our strength, our speed, our teeth, and our steel blades," he growled sharply. I frowned.
       "No need to get all worked up about nothing, Marick. Just sayin'. I thought that'd be all reassuring and encouraging for you or somethin'. What d'you rather I say? 'It'll be alright, take some deep breaths and we can work together'? Hell no, we wouldn't work together until Mack practically beat the hell outta us to," I scoffed.
       At the mention of his name, Mack was suddenly sitting beside me on the couch. Marick suddenly tensed up, probably not enjoying the company so much.
       "What 'bout me forcing y'two together, baby doll?" he murmured in my ear playfully.
       I rolled my eyes.
       "Not like that, sicko," I grumbled.
       That'd be gross – me and Marick a couple? Heck no. That'd be like if pigs fly, and I knew that Marick didn't have wings.
       Mack sighed. "Of course not. Thank God," he murmured, nuzzling the side of my neck. I frowned, especially when I heard a low growl in Marick's throat.
       "Mack… don't do this. She needs to keep her eye on the goal, not on your ass," he snarled.
       I glared at him.
       "Shut up, Marick," I growled at him. He grabbed my wrist and I screamed at how tight he was holding it.
       "Don't test me, Dawn," he warned, releasing my wrist. I drew it up to my chest, caressing it there as I whimpered, observing the red imprint of Marick's slightly calloused hand on my skin.
       "Ouch," I grumbled, and Mack slapped his little brother on the back of his head. Marick groaned, and I feared I was going to be caught in between a very fierce fight between brothers.
       "Um… stop, guys… We need all of our limbs to win this fight…thing," I murmured, shoving them both a little away from me.
       The growling ceased, and Marick's swift movements had my hand in his in the split of a second and I was lifted off the couch.
       "Hey!" I complained, but when he shot me a warning glare, I shut up and followed as he led us to the door.
       "Dawn, you ready? You don't need to piss or anything, right? 'Cause finding the bathrooms in Headquarters ain't gonna be our main priority," Marick asked. I shook my head.
       "Nope. I'm all, um, ready," I assured him, patting my pocket – where my pocket knife was stored – with a half-smile.
       Marick nodded his head.
       "A'ight. Well we better get goin' to make it back by sundown," he informed us. Mack's hand was suddenly around my waist. I gasped at the unexpected gesture and swiveled around the face him. He pulled his hood over his head, but his wide grin ruined the illusion of mystery and darkness that Marick had.
       "Ready, baby doll? There's no goin' back once we enter those doors," he warned me. I gulped, and nodded slowly.
       "Yeah, I'm ready… You guys ready?" I sighed, taking slow and deep breaths.
       Mack nodded, and I looked at Marick.
       "Um…" he paused for a moment, thinking it over. I couldn't help but punch him lightly on the arm again.
       "Suck it up, remember?" I reminded him. He sighed deeply.
       "Um, yeah… Yeah, I'm ready," he breathed. I smiled.
       "Good. 'Cause we're gonna go now," I declared. Turning back to Mack, I extended my arms to him and he smiled and hugged me back. "I'm gonna need a lift," I whispered in his ear. He chuckled.
       "Yeah, baby doll. Hold on," he warned me, and I was flung on to his back.
       He and Marick walked out the door, into the sun, and paused briefly.
       "You guys okay?" I asked them.
       Marick gulped.
       "Yeah, kiddo. We just haven't been out in daylight for a couple hundred years…" he explained.
       "It kind of tingles," Mack chimed in. I couldn't help but laugh, but I got all serious when we didn't move for a while. They weren't exactly in the sun yet, so I jumped down from Mack's back and took each of their hands.
       "Guys, c'mon… It's alright. It can't hurt you 'cause you're so covered," I coaxed them, dragging them out from under the shelter of the porch into direct sunlight.
       They both tensed up a bit, but when nothing happened, Mack seemed to relax a tad.
       "Eh, it ain't that bad, Mary!" he exclaimed, and I looked at Marick.
       I mouthed my tough reassurance to him once again and he took a deep breath and nodded.
       "Yeah, let's get going," he suggested. I nodded, holding my arms out for Mack again. He and Marick were wearing gloves, and they pulled a black sheet of cloth – that I had sewn on to the inside rim of their hoods – over their faces just in case. I giggled. They looked really scary; like assassins. I didn't bother mentioning this to them. We needed to get going.
       With my heart beating rapidly in my chest, Mack flung me on to his back and they were running as soon as I was comfortable.

       The castle we stopped at was enormous. It wasn't like the vision of Castle Dracula, it looked like just a gigantic brick factory building. It didn't have the big tubes that puffed out smoke, but aside from that, it was brick, it was stories tall and at least one half or a whole mile long, and wide on one side; the other was just at the edge of the violent river. There was cliff that dropped down to the waters.
       "God, it's huge," I gasped as Mack set me down on the ground. I took his hand briefly, squeezing it. He chuckled.
       "You're adorable when you're scared," he chuckled. I glared at him through the corner of my eye and he just smirked back at me.
       "I-I'm not sure if-" Marick interrupted, stopping briefly. Mack turned rigid as well, although I didn't know why. I tugged on his hand.
       "What's going on?" I whispered – whispering felt like the right thing to do right now.
       "They… the guards are gonna be right there," he murmured. I nodded, acknowledging the danger.
       My eyes drifted to Marick.
       "You gonna do alright?" I asked him, nudging his arm with my elbow. He took a deep breath and sighed.
       "Yeah. I'll be fine, Dawn. Don't worry about me," he snapped. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.
       "Sure, whatever. C'mon, let's go," I sighed, taking a step forward and dragging Mack with us.
       He let go of my hand, and Marick nudged my shoulder gently. I looked up at him.
       "Yes?"
       "Take care of yourself in there, a'ight Dawn? I don't know how preoccupied we're gonna be so, you stay with Mack if we ever get separated. He'll take better care of you than I can," he said with what sounded like regret.
       "Look, we're not gonna split up, okay? It's not every man for him or her self, okay? We'll stick together," I told him with conviction. He sighed, patting my shoulder.
       "Sure, kiddo. Hey – just one?" he requested, opening his arms up. I hesitated. I'd… I'd not hugged him for months; the last time it was when we were friends. But I guess I owed him more than I owed Mack – he had gotten this whole rescue party together to begin with. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his around my shoulders, and put his cheek on my head. "Thanks, kiddo. Now c'mon, let's get this done," he sighed, letting go of me. I released him and he and Mack were suddenly standing in front of me.
       Beside them, I saw their daggers slip into their hands, and I flipped open my pocket knife, holding on to it for my dear life.
       With one last deep breath, Marick knocked with great force on the giant steel door. Slowly, it creaked, and then swung open.
       The faces before me were as gruesome and pink and ugly as I last remembered.
       A growl erupted in every single vampire's throat, and then the first move was made.

       Everything was a bit of a blur. There were only quiet growls and screeches, but those that did sound were noises of death. It was quite clear. We had been standing three on three, and those Mack had easily taken down the first and Marick was working on the second, I had trouble finding the third. Then suddenly from behind me, Mack and Marick were preoccupied with their own problems, I was knocked to the ground.
       Searing pain rushed through my body as I fell face flat on the floor. I screamed angrily, frustrated that I was caught off guard, and spun around so that I could face my opponent. He, or it (I couldn't tell), pinned me down, snarling, but not immediately tearing me apart. It took a whiff of my blood and grinned widely to flaunt his crooked, sharp, white teeth and nasty jet black gums. I saw its piercing black eyes, lusting for my blood, and my hand flew to the pocketknife sheltered in my pocket.
       I flipped it open quickly, but that damn pure vampire saw it and slammed my hand back down on the ground. I screamed in pain as my knuckles rammed against the hard floor, and watched helplessly as my pocketknife skidded across the floor a few feet away.
       The last resorts I had were my legs, free unlike my arms. So I thrust up my most-mobile knee right into the y-junction of that pure vampire and gaped when there seemed to be no affect. Damn! Do these guys not have junk or something?! I screamed angrily at myself, and wrestled with all of my pathetic might to be freed.
       Then the weight was lifted right as the vampire's hand slid to my throat, when I was sure I was going to die, and the small scream it emitted soon dulled into gurgles. It took a moment to recover and Marick's cold hands helped me up. The vampire that had assaulted me was in Mack's grasps, and I knew it wouldn't last at all for a second. My assumptions were correct when its head was disconnected and flew like some retarded shooting star out the door into the open sun and disintegrated. I watched in silence, leaning slightly against Marick – much to my embarrassment since I was sure (kind of) that I still didn't like him – as I watched Mack dismember the rest of that vile creature and toss its appendages out into daylight.
       The excitement was over, for now, I guessed. Marick and Mack had to take a moment to shut the doors behind him, and then I flew into Mack's arms, burying my face in his little-clad chest. The blood from those creatures had disintegrated a majority of the robe's torso, leaving Mack's tee-shirt underneath showing. He looked quite hilarious really, but I stopped myself from laughing at him long enough to thank him.
       He just laughed.
       "Thank Mary, baby doll. I just killed it. If it weren't for my baby bro your 'impending doom' wouldn't have been acknowledged," he laughed, kissing the top of my head. I was shocked at first, as I spun around in Mack's arms and saw Marick there, slightly out of breath like his older brother. It was awkward; what was I supposed to do? Run into his arms like I did Mack? Mack was different: I loved him like a brother. But Marick?
       No matter, I was wasting time. Anyways, Mack did the actual killing, so… yeah. There's my excuse.
       I nodded to Marick once, muttering a "thanks." He raised an eyebrow at me, his arms twitching by his sides, but he just nodded back and told us to follow him.

       The Headquarters was quite an intriguing place. The halls looked old-fashioned, worn brick-like clay with floors that matched. Every hall, every room, was dimly lit or brightly lit, yet all by candle-light torches positioned at regular intervals along the walls. Mack's hand was in mine as we rushed down the halls. Marick tried his best to keep at a "human" pace, but on many occasions I felt as though my feet would fall off I was running so fast. Then he would stop for a moment to examine where we were, and I'd practically collapse if it weren't for Mack's protective arms to catch me, out of breath having a heart attack.
       We ran into guards only twice, once on my fault – I accidentally tripped and my cell phone fell out of my pocket, making a clattering noise on the ground when we were just two halls down from the patrols – and the other just by mere coincidence. By the twelfth room that we stopped in, Marick raised his hand to halt us and raised his nose to the air.
       "Lost the scent or something?" I guessed.
       He looked at me as though I disturbed perfect concentration and I raised my hands in silent defense.
       "No. I'm… not lost... just a little confused… It's been a while," he murmured. I scoffed.
       "You're totally lost," I accused him. Mack chuckled from beside me, squeezing my hand gently to hush me up. I just glared at Marick and he returned the stare.
       "You wanna find your damn sister or not? Here, we'll just retrace our steps back to the last four way intersection. We shoulda gone west, not down the north hall. C'mon," he explained with a sigh. I groaned in frustration and I heard a little growl from Marick before we took off running again.
       He led us down the "correct" path, and before I knew it, we were in front of a wooden, blocked off staircase.
       "It descends to the dungeon I took care of," he explained. I frowned.
       "How d'you know this is the one you guarded?" I asked skeptically. He glared at me.
       "'Cause I took care of a basilisk, I remember. And the smell of its sh*t is very distinguished," he snarled. I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, gesturing for him to lead the way. "They might have reinstated guards, y'know. Since I took Cecilia with me, they'll want extra guards at this particular cell level. Although in the past, Sundays are calm days. We always got those days off. However, we should be cautious just in case they changed their mind 'cause of me. Can y'fight again, Dawn? And this time I mean so I won't have to save you and you won't just give all the credit to Mack?" he sneered, insulted. I rolled my eyes.
       "Grow up, Marick. Yeah, I'm ready. I got my pocket knife," I assured him, slipping it out of my pocket. I had picked it up earlier before we had set off running.
       He nodded and kicked the door in. This led to "clatter, clatter, bang, fall, crash," as it made its way ungracefully down the cement floors. I glared at him.
       "Real discreet, Marick," I glared. He flashed a grin at me that suddenly made my heart flip, and I looked away. Dammit…
       We stood there for a second, staring down the dark abysmal flight of stairs to see a dim light at the very end, hearing nothing. Marick turned to look back at me again.
       "Usually I'd say ladies first, but I guess it's better if you go last instead," he laughed with a quaint smile. I nodded, and he started down the stairs. Mack followed him, walking partially-sideways as he held my hand and guided me in the dark. Stupid vampires had to have perfect vision…
       Much to our jubilant relief, there were no guards down there. The smell was dull, but I guess the enhanced noses vampires had made it terrible or something.
       I looked up to see Mack's nose wrinkled.
       "Damn… you're right, Mary… it smells rank," he grimaced. I shrugged.
       "It's not so much worse than a neglected horse's stable," I admitted. I do remember, though, that that memory brought back queasy feelings in my stomach. But that incident isn't something we need to discuss…
       Mack looked down at me with a frown.
       "Lucky you and your stupid dull senses," he grumbled. I grinned happily at him.
       Marick just snorted, and stopped us. It took one glance from Marick for Mack to release my hand, and Marick held out his instead. I took it reluctantly.
       "I thought maybe I could be the hero today," he mumbled an explanation.
       "What-?"
       "I know where she's kept," he interrupted in a little whisper. I nodded in acknowledgement and he led me down to the very, very end of the room.
       I heard him sniff around a bit and frown. I was concerned, actually, more than concerned. I was terrified, and I squeezed his hand gently.
       "Marick?... What's wrong?" I realized then that my voice was shaky.
       He raised an eyebrow.
       "Their scents… aren't that strong…" he murmured.
       I bit my lower lip.
       "O-open the door, Marick. I wanna see my sister again," I begged him, and I felt a bit more comforted by the feeling of Mack's smooth hand on my shoulder.
       Marick nodded, complying. The door's hinges collapsed when Marick hit it in a certain sweet spot. Behind the door were bars, thick and out of dull steel I guessed. It was still a bit dark in the cell, but not nearly as dark as Marick's face when I looked back at him.
       "Wh-? Where are they, Marick?"
       He shook his head, his expression turning from confusion to astonishment.
       "They're… gone."
       My gaze darted back… to the empty cell in front of me.
       I was shocked, terrified, and clung to Marick's sleeve like my life definitely depended on it; no, not my life: my sister's life. I looked up at him desperately.
       "Where, Marick? Where is she?" I cried out. He shrugged his shoulders, his eyes full of sympathy.
       "Not here… But don't worry, we'll tr-" When he stopped abruptly and turned his head to the doorway, I froze. Mack had that same rigid posture that his youngest brother had now, and they were both glaring.
       "What?" I whispered, but Marick's hand suddenly flew over my mouth. His hand smelled like some unique spices, unlike his vanilla-scented brother (wow I sounded like a freak).
       "They're here… they heard the noise… They're gonna find us… we can't make it out by the time they get here," he murmured right in my ear, so low I could still barely hear. I gasped into his hand, and a low snarl rippled in his chest.
       "Mack… you think we can take them?" he murmured to his brother. I whimpered into Marick's hand, shaking my head the best I could. I looked desperately up at Mack. We couldn't… who knows how many they were sending?
       Mack sensed my concern too.
       "Don't worry Dawny… We won't let them get you…" he murmured, kissing my forehead. I whimpered, ripping Marick's hand away from my mouth.
       "I'm not worried about me; I'm worried about you two!" I cried out quietly and was pulled into Mack's arms.
       "We'll be fine, baby doll… just take care of y'self. Marick, is there any chance-?" he was stopped when Marick shook his head. I frowned.
       "We can-"
       "No, kiddo. We can't. They'll send their best. They'll send Jaxon, and if not, then they'll take us to him and Adanik and we're dead meat it they do," Marick snarled. I could hear growls and shouts from up the stairs, and Marick's hand flew over my mouth again. I was shocked when Mack slipped his dagger into my hand and exchanged it for my pocketknife. I looked up at him.
       "For luck," he mouthed silently, and I whimpered. The two brothers drew their black "masks" over their faces and I assumed it was because they didn't want their identities to be discovered. Marick's hand tightened around my mouth and I gasped when a count of eight pure vampires suddenly appeared, gathering around the entrance of the cell level. In front of them was Jaxon – I recognized him from their first visit to the Dred brother's household.
       He had his hands behind his back, a sneer on his face until he saw it was just me and two masked figures.
       "Miss Dawn?" he asked, astonished. I bit my lip and nodded. He frowned. "What are you doing here? You two – show your faces!" he demanded.
       Something in the authority of his tone frightened me. It must have affected Marick and Mack too, because they suddenly drew their masks up. Jaxon looked even more surprised now.
       "Mister and Mister Dred?" he gasped.
       They nodded simultaneously, and I felt Marick's fingers twine with my own and Mack's do the same on the other side.
       "Yeah, Jaxon. It's us. Got a problem with it?" Marick snarled.
       Jaxon's eyes narrowed.
       "You were dead. I swear you were dead! We hurt you far too bad for you to recover in less than a year! We were sure you were dead! Adanik's going to murder me, thanks to you, M-"
       "Then I sure as hell hope he does! God dammit you did nearly kill me! Thanks a f" bad word "cking lot, Jaxon!" he roared. I squeezed his hand and he seemed to calm down.
       "But how-?" and Jaxon stopped and looked at me. His eyes grew wide, and I gasped. He knew… he could tell. Marick and Mack were suddenly in front of me, snarling.
       "Don't touch a hair on her precious little head, you bas" bad word "rd," Mack warned. I bit my lower lip and leaned into him slightly. He sighed, but he didn't kiss my head like I thought he would – he just stood there holding my hand like Marick was on my other side.
       "B-but sh-she's-!" he gasped, pointing a shaking finger at me. I shrunk a bit from behind the two Dred brothers and whispered Mack's name. He just patted my head.
       "So? What of it? She's not yours to take. She's with m- us. You can't hurt her with us here," Marick snarled. I was startled to hear him defending me, but I squeezed his hand for a thanks.
       "Marick, where is the water nymph?" Jaxon changed the subject. He shrugged his shoulders.
       "I haven't got a bloody hell of an idea. I don't pay attention to that b*tch's whereabouts. But y'know what? I don't care either," he snarled. "And it's irrelevant to what's-"
       "Ah! But that's where you are incorrect, dead man," Jaxon interrupted with a snarl. "Two prisoners escaped just this morning! We haven't the time or energy to chase after them at the moment, but at nightfall we shall as soon as we catch their scent. Do you recall the were-dog and his gifted human lover?"
       He looked at me.
       "Come here, dear girl," he cooed, and I felt my body stiffen. My eyes were locked to his, and my feet pushed me through the barrier of brothers until Mack grabbed my arm and Marick's hand was suddenly over my eyes. I gasped, broken, afraid of what influence a vampire's hypnotism could have on me. I was pulled back into one brother's arms, though "blindfolded," I couldn't tell which one.
       "Don't trick her, Jaxon. She may be gullible, but we aren't," Marick snarled, and I realized from the vibrations I felt from the chest my head was leaning on that it was Marick whose arms were tightly around me. I leaned into him a bit, cautiously, and Marick removed his hand from my eyes.
       "Thanks," I mumbled, thick with sarcasm, into his chest. He patted my head and hushed me down.
       There was silence for a while. I could sense the tension. Yet the minute I drew away from Marick's chest, everyone seemed to stir.
       "She comes with us," Jaxon demanded. "She comes with us and you and your brother may leave. We shall not tell Adanik of your existence, Marick, and Mack, we shall not tell him of your visit. However for this, the girl must stay," he instructed.
       I froze, exchanging glances with both brothers.
       "Don't do this…" I begged them, knowing that they'd put up a fight. "I'm not worth it, guys… Just go home, be safe," I begged.
       Marick's index finger and thumb caught my chin in their grasp and he brought my face up to his.
       "You are so worth it, Dawn," he growled, our faces inches apart. I gulped, and shook my head.
       "No, I'm really not," I protested, shoving him away.
       "Naïve little girl," he snarled under his breath. I stepped on his foot roughly and he grunted.
       "Stupid annoying vampire," I countered.
       Mack's hand caught my shoulder.
       "Guys… not the time and not the place," he muttered. I gasped, brought back to reality, and nodded before I stopped.
       Marick continued to mutter incoherently under his breath.
       "You're stupid to think we'd ever let Dawn go with you all," Mack declared.
       I cringed mentally.
       "No… Mack," I whimpered.

       Growls erupted from the throats of all vampires, including Marick and Mack.
       "Well then… we've no choice," Jaxon finished with a sigh. I clenched the dagger in my hand for my dear life and readied myself for a fight to the death.
       However, no such fight came. Before I realized, the swarm of pure vampires surrounded us, with Marick and Mack on either side of us, and then there was a blur before I felt myself fall to the ground. I'd taken a blow to the head, and from the sounds of around me, Marick and Mack were down on the ground also. One of them took my hand and I was too immobilized to squeeze his or his hand reassuringly.
       My eyes could move, though, and I watched helplessly as two vampires each picked up Marick, Mack, and I by our arms and dragged us who knows where. Halfway up the stairs, I fell unconscious.

                                To Be Continued...</u>