My Precious Nightmare

Chapter 39: A Talent for Strength

The last shadow dropped Husani in time for him to catch Sky as Morianton pushed her off along with the headless corpse. He only had time to register the hole in her back before the newborn vampire spun about in his hands like a rolling log down a river and dug her fangs into his shoulder. He gave a shout of surprised pain and shoved at her, just to find an alarming strength defying him. It didn't seem to matter that she was missing the flesh from one shoulder and had tiger stripes of gashes along the rest of her.

"Morianton, stop her! She'll poison herself!"

But the tall man just brushed himself off and smirked at his downed teacher. "What do you expect me to do? I've tried feeding her human blood and she just throws it back up."

Husani stared at him. "You didn't—" the girl bit down harder with a growl, cutting him off. Realizing he had no other choice, he felt out the hole on her back and shoved a fist in at the same time that he punched the side of her throat with his other.

She pitched off him with a choked squawk. He rolled away, reaching for his shadows as the girl hacked and retched through her crushed throat.

And then Morianton was there, gathering her into his arms as though she were much more fragile than she had just proven herself to be.

"Don't let her—" too late. Morianton had guided the girl's mouth to his throat, where she bit in and curled up against his chest like a babe.

"I'm sure I can trust you not to kill Lea," said Morianton, as though he didn't have a full-grown woman in his arms nursing off his throat.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

Morianton's eyes narrowed. "What I can. I already told you, she threw up any human blood I gave her."

Husani opened his mouth to give an angry retort, then realized there was nothing to be done now anyways. Sky had already inherited her lot in life, however short and violent it would be. Putting a hand to the already closed holes on the side of his neck, he sighed and made his way over to the twitching, headless body. Already, bone and muscle were reforming like the growth of a plant on high-speed.

"He needs to be burned now," Husani said as he kneeled beside the body and took aim for the chest. "Do you have any gasoline?"

"Yes. Didn't you say vamp fumes were toxic to humans?"

"Which is why I'm going to ask you to take Lea. I need to take him outside city limits." Husani shoved his hand forward and broke it trying to snap through the titanium of the vampire's ribs. He hissed in pain and shook it off.

"I don't think that's much of an option," said Morianton.

Husani tossed him a questioning look over his shoulder as he tried digging around the ribs to the throbbing heart beneath. But even once he felt it throbbing against his nails, its surface was like stone. All the while, the base of the corpse's skull continued to form.

The old vampire's torso arched up.

"The whole city has been locked down by the military and they're on the alert for anything strange."

"They won't see me," said Husani.

"Sure. Your party." The CEO paused. "I don't think it's a good idea I take the girl."

Husani was about to ask, then already knew. Sky was taking blood from Morianton. The man also had his own share of injuries from the ancient vampire's assault. He should be getting thirsty, and there was no telling how long it would take for his brother to bring the helicopter over.

With a low curse, Husani pulled his bruised fingers from between the headless vampire's ribs.

"Here, then," he grabbed the old vampire's wrist and tossed his body over to Aster as though it were but a large sock doll. "Have Sky suck on that. Heart's still pumping, but I can't get to it, so her drinking his blood should slow the healing process."