Darkness Rises(25)

“Brilliant,” he groused.
She’d let that slide, knowing worry spawned it.
“Did he say why he killed them?”
“He said he was protecting me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know.”
“He’s a vampire and you’re a vampire hunter.”
“I know.”
He finished torturing her with the needle and applied a bandage.
Exhaling a deep sigh of relief, Krysta turned around and sank gingerly into the chair. “He wanted me to stop hunting. He said it was too dangerous and couldn’t believe I’ve been doing it for so long without getting myself killed.”
“I can’t believe you’ve been doing it so long without getting yourself killed.”
“Smart-ass.”
He grunted.
“He said he’s been hunting vampires himself for two hundred years, Sean.”
He glanced up at her as he retrieved some butterfly closures. “Two hundred years?”
“Yes.”
“Why would a vampire hunt other vampires? Is it a territorial thing or something?”
“He said it wasn’t, but wouldn’t go into it. And tonight . . .” She didn’t want to think about it.
“What the hell happened, Krysta?”
“I played my usual Victim Here role, lured some vampires behind the building where you found us, and confronted them before Étienne could snatch them away.”
He nodded at their guest. “I assume he’s Étienne?”
“Yes. They called him an immortal guardian, and thought I was something called a second.”
“What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know. But they were afraid of him and pissed at him all at the same time. And I can see why. There were six vampires and he took out most of them with no help from me and again saved my ass. Then, all of a sudden, someone shot him in the neck with a tranquilizer dart.”
“Vampires can be sedated? Shit. I didn’t even think of that.”
“I didn’t either. As soon as he saw the dart, Étienne told me to run and shoved me behind the building. Then the soldiers you saw appeared and shot him all to hell. They would have killed me, Sean, if he hadn’t saved me. If he had run, they would have come after me. But he stayed and fought and took those bullets so I would have time to get away.”
He sat back. “I don’t understand. Why would a bunch of human soldiers want to kill you, another human? I mean, if they’re vampire hunters like you, wouldn’t they want to protect you?”
“I think they believed I was a second—whatever that is— like the vampires did. Either that or they wanted him and thought I was expendable. Hell, maybe they thought I was his Renfield.”
“Shit.”
“I know.”
“If he wanted to save you, why didn’t he just toss you over his shoulder and run?”
“Maybe he was already too weak. Or maybe he was afraid they’d shoot me before he could get us out of range. Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking straight because of the drug.”
He went back to work. “And your daggers?”
How had they ended up in the throat and heart of two human men?
“I couldn’t let them kill him or capture him after he sacrificed himself to protect me.”
Sean sighed. “Were they military?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t identify themselves. Didn’t shout, Halt! Don’t move! Police! Army! SWAT! Nothing. They just opened fire.”
Zipping his bag closed, Sean sat back on the floor. “What a mess.” He dragged his hands down his face. “I can’t think straight. My head is fucking killing me.”
Guilt suffused her, as it always did when he suffered physical pain after healing her wounds.
“So what’s the plan?” he asked wearily. “What are we going to do with Count Chocula over there?”
“I don’t know.”
Rising, Sean stared down at the unconscious vampire. “Immortal guardian,” he muttered.
“That’s what they called him.”
“His wounds aren’t healing. He probably needs blood.”
“Well, I’d kinda like to keep mine where it is, particularly since I lost some tonight.”
He loosed a tired laugh. “Yeah. Me, too. I guess I should patch him up since he saved your stubborn, reckless ass.”
“I was hoping you would.”
Krysta helped him remove Étienne’s coat, weapons, and shirt.
Both swore when they saw just how many bullet holes he sported.
Krysta didn’t know how he could still live. The vampires she usually hunted often died from blood loss. And Étienne had lost a lot of blood.
They moved on to his shoes and pants.
Sean’s lips twitched.