ALL NOVEL Chapter 19: One by One – Part 5.
Gasping for breath from the tentacle choke hold, Casey watched as the shadow of unconsciousness started to cloud and darken her vision. Devoid of panic or fear, the young ward’s mind started flashing a myriad of past memories. She saw herself with her college colors on, face painted with Brian’s number twenty-two outlined in gold and cheering her big man on as he grabbed and tackled a runner with a football. Cheers of success warped into the passionate and blissful screams of being penetrated and feeling Brian’s thick chest in her hands, clawing him as he lifted her higher into ecstasy. Open mouths of orgasm faded and Casey saw herself laying silently atop his big form, slowly kissing him until she felt her heavy eyelids begging for sleep.
-NO!-
Clarity pushed the fog of sleep from her mind long enough to remember that she was being held against her will and the softness she wanted was the furthest thing from what was occurring. Vile green vines tightened and Casey felt she was slowly losing her once gentle giant to his need of forced compulsion. Blind obedience of his will, not listening or caring what her personal needs were. Time had ceased to be a luxury for Casey and could feel her body losing its ability to fight on through the lack of air. Dropping her hand to her side, Her weak fingers grazed the hilt of one dagger glued to her hip. One fluid move, Casey’s hand grasped the weapon and using all the strength she had left in her fading body, she hurled the blade at her ex-boyfriend.
Confusion wracked Casey as the vines holding her captive faded and she was able to take in a huge gulp of air. Hitting the ground with a heavy thud, Casey piecemealed the events by sound. She’d heard Brian scream something about being bitten then the sharp tingling of glass shattering and wooden walls snapping. The last thing she recalled before her sight restored and her ears stopped ringing was hearing Brian scream out in pain and yell, “Owww Fuck!” Casey took a couple more deep breaths and glanced up in time to see the hilt of her knife falling to the floor and a bright red mark on Brian’s forehead.
“You bitch!” Brian roared and launched some of the smooth stones that made up his shoulder pads.
Spotting the blade from her knife flying to an open space close to the brick that made up the fireplace, Casey forced her body to move and she scrambled to reach the broken knife just as the stones drove themselves into her face and eyes with enough force to crack the bones in her cheeks. One eye began to swell closed and Casey fell backwards, yet somehow managed to clasp her hand around the remains of her weapon.
Brian reached up and felt the gash at the base of his neck where Sylvie had managed to get a single bite and slight tear in. “Annoying fanger.” Brian lifted his runed hand to the injury and his green light pulsed for a moment for the scent of searing flesh permeated the air. “Captain Mattson will deal with her.” Brian saw the glint of metal in Casey’s bleeding hand. “Not twice.” With a slight hunch, Brian pushed off and ran for Casey much like he was aiming to stop a quarterback from escaping his clutches. Quickly closing the gap between the door to the kitchen and the hearth, Brian reached Casey before she had a chance to move and stomped on the hand holding the remains of the dagger.
Bones cracked and crunched under Brian’s weight, causing Casey to yelp in pain once more. Tinkering of metal on rock echoed as her mangled fingers helplessly opened and rendered the shattered knife useless. Determined to give her body enough time to start its regeneration, Casey kicked out as hard as she could and connected with the back of Brian’s knee. A rush of satisfaction pulsed in her veins as she heard the tendon pop and Brian fell backwards howling in pain, freeing her broken hand. Scooting back once more, Casey spotted the stairs leading further into the house and away from the kitchen.
Scrambling up the stairs the best she could, Casey yelled back at Brian. “What the fuck has gotten into you!?” Casey panted as she crawled her way up the steps in the effort to reach the top. Casey sighed as her fingers began to pop back into place and her hand regained feeling. No sooner had she started flexing the repaired hand, Casey felt an iron grip on her ankle and a heavy jerk.
“I am not the one that is charmed by a damned vampire.” Brian said after he pulled Casey free of the stairs and flung the smaller woman into the wall close to the front door, breaking the drywall in the process. Brian limped heavily over to where Casey lay half dazed on the floor, “You are making me do this, Casey. You think I like this? Humm?” Brian stood still for a few seconds waiting for Casey to move. “Obey me and this all ends. It is my job to save you from yourself.”
“I’m not the one that needs saving, Brian.” Casey weakly mumbled trying to give herself time to recover.
Brian yanked Casey up by her hair and looked into her single damaged chocolate eye. “I always know what you need, Casey.” He started to drag her once more across the living room floor. “Sometimes love has a price to pay.”
Unwilling to suffer more damage, Casey flicked the last dagger from her side and cut her curly locks so that she slipped free of Brian’s unwavering grip. Free once more and her legs in perfect working order, Casey jumped and hopped across the sofa and landed at the foot of the stairs. Expecting another volley of rocks, the young ward hunched down just in time to watch a few embed themselves into the wall.
Grunting as he dropped a handful of Casey’s blonde-auburn hair and missing with his second wave of stones, Brian gave chase the best he could with his heavily swollen knee. He’d reached the base of the stairs when he saw Casey crest the final step and crawl to her feet. He held up his hands and slowly started making his way step by step. “All I wanted was to have a glass of tea and discuss things, Casey.” His voice took on its soothing psychiatric undertones, “I love you. You know that.” He waved his hand to get Casey to lower the dagger. “Look at yourself, You are healing.” Brian tapped his chest lightly. “I can’t. You and your bloodsucker out there have wounded and hurt me.” He hobbled up a few more steps, “All because you won’t listen to reason.”
Repairs had begun and the swelling under Casey’s eye diminished so she could use the damaged eye once more, restoring her depth of vision. -A little longer, Rivers.- Casey told herself and took a couple steps backward deeper into the hallway of the second floor of the farmhouse. “You must think I am crazy, Brian.” She pointed the dagger at the man as he kept working his way up the stairs. “Discuss what? Which attack would you like to discuss, Brian?” Lacerations across Casey’s waist stopped bleeding and sealed shut. When the ringing in her ears stopped, Casey heard Sylvie screaming for the first time since the fighting had begun. “You have a choice, Brian. You could just stop.”
Pressing forward like an unstoppable stone based tank, Brian lumbered his way up the steps. “I am not attacking you, I am saving you.” Watching as Casey’s wounds slowly closed, Brian knew that his possession was stalling for time. Twisting and flicking his wrist, the limelight from his rune sent a wave of pink-white salt in chunks hurling through the air. Subtly moving his hand to control where the crystalline shards would impact Casey, he aimed for her eyes and the remaining open wounds.
Deflecting the bigger chunks with her dagger, Casey realized the folly of standing and defending rather than moving instantly. Flying shards turned to a powder and caused small clouds of salt to embed themselves in her eyes, blinding her once more. When the other clumps pounded into her body, Casey was forced to stumble backwards just before the stinging pain of salt radiated in her open sores. Assisted by Vivienne’s mandate, she fought through the pain and crouched to jump for the room where she’d spotted the window moments before. Without warning, Casey felt the carpet slide then her feet going airborne just a second before she hit with a heavy thud. Mind numbing stars pulsed through her salt stained vision and scattered Casey’s thoughts when her head slammed into the floor.
“Going somewhere?” Brian mockingly questioned as he used Casey’s hair to batter her skull until she went limp. “Finally, when you wake up…everything will be wonderful.” He stood up and pulled Casey over his shoulder and started for the steps. “I’ll even summon some pretty flowers..all this will be a memory.”