PREVIEWS: Dan and Rowe Ch. 5 (An EVIL Teaser)

Oooo I know I'm in trouble already.  *Hides behind chair to avoid eye daggers*  Here is something to wet your palette though and give you a preview of things to come. Of course I have to save the actual Dan and Rowe drama for when I post the chapter but this should do the trick. I hope you all don't hate me too much after you read this. Lol. This week I will be posting some more Fangspace and plenty of teaser lines on Twitter, so if you don't follow me, you might want to. :)  

*Spins around in my spinny chair with an evil laugh* Enjoy....

XOXOXO NIGHTTEMPEST

~~~~~~The Compound~~~~~~

Maggie picked up Hannah and George cradled a shaking Emma. Together the pair walked down the underground hallway and went into the small kitchen to do some comforting.  Without saying anything to each other, Maggie and George shifted the children onto their hips and began to work their magic.  Taking care of a household was an art form that they both had years to master--an art that currently involved break away cookie dough in the oven and warming milk and chocolate on the stove. 

Maggie gave George an appreciative smile as he grabbed Hannah from her and brought both girls to the table.  “Emma’s cold,” Hannah said softly and wrapped an arm around her sister.  Emma had yet to say anything.  She was so scared and she wanted her mommy so badly that she couldn’t even voice it.  Instead she snuggled into the nice man with the pretty silver hair and green eyes.  He was like a grandpa and even though Emma had never had one, George still felt like one.  He was so big and smelled like the cleaner mommy used on the table in the kitchen, like lemons. 

“Emma? Are you cold sweetheart?” George peered down and Emma burrowed under his arm.  Her little hands clutched at his jacket making George melt inside.  He’d never had children or been honored with grandchildren but these two little girls were what he had always imagined.  Their curly black hair and bright green eyes gave them the appearance of fragile little dolls but George knew better.  To still be going after what they had been through tonight meant they were brave in their own right and George hugged them both tighter.

“S’okay,” Emma whispered as George rubbed her back.  His eyes widened when he heard her little voice but he smiled.  Hannah looked at her sister and Emma reached for her hand.  The three of them stayed locked together as Maggie stood watch over her newest cubs and prepared cookies and hot chocolate. The compound was beginning to blossom with children and Maggie had to wonder when more would make an appearance.  It was only a matter of time but what then, Maggie worried thinking of what poor Isaac had been born into.  She hoped and prayed that these children would grow up safe in the coming times.  From what had been said downstairs, things were only going to get worse now that the threat had continued.  Could they really handle more babies coming along during a war? Maggie looked to George and he cut his eyes to her.

His green eyes narrowed and it was then that Maggie knew.  Even the weakest of their kind would give their lives to protect these babes.  And if that was the mentality among all the vampires, Maggie nodded back; then the enemy was in for a rude awakening.

~~~~~~~Downstairs~~~~~~~~

With his back to the door to keep Frank from running out, Yuri crossed his arms and stood guard.  “Sit down Frank.  You’re just going to tire yourself out.”

“And I’m not already?  I want to see my girls damn it!  Those are my babies and they’re freaked the fuck out.  You saw Emma.  She’s probably a wreck and what about Jess?  What’s happening with her?  I want to see her.” Frank put a hand to the wall and another on his hip.  This was so messed up that Frank couldn’t even process what he’d seen tonight. Those weren’t zombies out on the lawn tonight, they were vampires?  Nah, his brain wasn’t down with that explanation.  Neither was the fact that these creatures had his girls somewhere that wasn’t at his side. Frank was getting hella pissed and his muscles were clenched in a painful way.  Where was his blondie and what the fuck had these people done with her?  Or worse…what if she wasn’t coming back?  No, no, no, Frank shook his head.  That couldn’t happen, not to Jess, not his heart.

“Calm down!” Nina snapped and slammed a fist into the table.  Her power manifested in the air and her eyes flared to life.  Blazing red irises like the flickering of flames penetrated every soul in the room with her anger before settling on Frank.  “Everything I do, I do with a reason and you would be wise not to question me.  I risked my life, a Queen, to secure you and yours, nothing more than humans.  But why you forgot to ask?  Because to me and mine you are precious to this life, your safety means everything to us and we have shown you nothing but that simple truth.  I understand you are scared and still find us hard to comprehend but the sooner you buck up and get with the program, the sooner you can be understand that this is for your safety!”

“Our safety?” Frank slid into an armchair with a shudder.  He couldn’t seem to rub off the uncomfortable sensation nagging at his body.  Was that coming from her?  Was she really what she said she was, a vampire queen?

Nina dug her nails into the desk to try and reign in her power but now that she was angry, there was no stopping it.  “I just got off the phone with Knox.  You know Knox don’t you?”

Frank flicked his eyes up and nodded. Blue hair, scary as fuck, and tats that looked like they were done by the devil himself; yeah he knew Knox. “Yes.”  Frank had always been skeptical about the guy.  Sure he dealt with felons and spooks all day night long but there had always been something about Knox that seemed above even that.  Was he a vampire too?

“He just called to say that they have Jess.  That is the reason I wanted to see you in private, without the girls.  I didn’t want them to hear what I have to say.” Nina fell into her high back chair and rubbed her glowing eyes.  She hoped like hell that Hill was on his way.  She was feeling like shit and couldn’t seem to make the ache stop.  Dealing with Frank was just making the feeling worse.

Frank’s blood ran cold.  Slowly he stood and walked over to Nina’s desk where he was met with two guns in his face from her guards.  Holding his hands up in defense, Frank took two steps back and they lowered their guns to waist height.  “Please no.  Just don’t tell me she…”

“Whatever you’re thinking Frank, it’s worse than that.” Nina cursed under her breath as Frank stumbled back—only gaining his balance with the help of the guards.  Yuri could feel the human’s anguish and his heart went out to Frank.  Even though he was a tough son of a bitch, had that been Yuri’s Katrina instead of Jess, he’d feel the hand of death up his spine as well.  Fuck that, he’d beg for death.

“No,” Frank moaned and fell to his knees. “No!” He screamed and a gut wrenching sob poured from his throat.  His palms hit the Oriental rug and his forehead followed as Frank mourned the loss of the girl that got away, the mother of his children, the only female he’d ever love. 

Even as the ache swelled over her body, Nina felt the human’s pain as if it was her own—the two not so different at the moment.  Also with a twinge of regret for raising her voice in Frank’s time of need, Nina went to him on the carpet and got to her knees.  “She’s not dead Frank.”

Frank heard Nina’s words but he figured it was his imagination trying to cope as his insides were being shredded with heartbreak. “Be quiet,” he growled to himself. “Just shut up.”

Nina dared to touch Frank.  The man’s entire body was rigid like a dangerous predator ready for the slightest provocation.  Her fingers met his damp hair and Nina gasped when Frank’s eyes cut to her with a snarl.  “Frank, she’s not dead.”

“What did you do to her!  You people, what you do with my Blondie?” His words were like death on breath as he perched into a crouch and slapped Nina’s hand away from his head with an audible smack.

“We merely got her out…but the damage was already done.  Those things that attacked you tonight, Frank? Those blood thirsty creatures that only thrived on hunger and destruction because that is what their bodies crave?  Those kind of vampires?  Jess is…now one of them.” Nina’s power was beginning to fade back into her body as the ache turned into sharp pains in her lower stomach. 

“Jess…is one of them?” Frank shook his head and crawled back away from Nina.  The queen clutched her stomach and tried to speak but the pain grew worse.  Nina fell to the carpet and rolled into a ball with a gasp.

“Your highness?  Nina!” Yuri shouted and the guards helped the queen onto her back as Nina closed her eyes tight and writhed.  “Nina, can you hear me?” Minutes passed and the sounds from Nina’s mouth turned into pure tones of agony.

“What’s happening to her?” Frank scrambled away as the queen began an eerie howl of pain. 

“Shut up!  Someone take him to the girls and watch him like a hawk.  You.” Yuri pointed to the nearest guard and grabbed his collar. “Get Hill on the phone and tell him to step the fuck on it.  Those doctors know all about us? Then they better prove it! I want them here now!”

“Ye…yes, sir!” The guard rubbed at his neck and ran out the door with his cell already dialing.

Nina felt like she was being grabbed from the inside and stabbed a dozen times over.  So hungry, so painful, so something else that it didn’t make sense.  Vampires didn’t know this kind of illness or ache without a wound to go with it and even that healed within minutes or an hour tops.  This was different and the queen felt her consciousness slipping as the feeling of fire in her body grew to epic proportions.  On top of that she could feel Hill screaming in her head.  He knew she was in trouble, she saw his eyes one last time in her mind.  He was coming for her and that was all she had to hold onto as she went to another place—somewhere where it didn’t hurt anymore.

“My queen?” Yuri whispered in horror as the body in his arms went limp.  “Nina?”

“What is it?” Maggie ran into the room.  “The guard said that…oh my God.” Maggie rushed to Yuri and dropped to her knees.  Her hands immediately sifted through Nina’s curls to see her eyes closed and her lips open.

“Maggie…” Yuri turned his dark eyes on Mags like a little boy lost.  “I think…she’s dead.”