Chapter 7 #2
“They will gather. The more that gather, the easier it will be to kill them all. Distance between two points adds so much effort to slaying. You will be an efficient slayer because you work for me now.”
“Wait. I never agreed to that.”
“Do you want your husband to die?”
I gasped and glared at him. “How dare you threaten him? What did he ever do to you?”
“He didn’t keep his wife home and satisfied, so she wasn’t out running around and getting involved in things which, as you know, are none of your business. Every husband’s first duty is to keep his wife too worn out from intermarriage affairs to do anything else.”
I just gaped at him for daring to say something that humiliating until I darted in and stabbed his kidney. I missed because he moved effortlessly to the side, twisting my blade flat with his claws. He was beyond barbaric, beyond chauvinistic, beyond anything.
“Better, but not aimed quite far enough over. Don’t bother giving vampires stomach wounds. It just irritates them, and then they eat you to rebuild the material you disrupted.”
“Eat or drink?”
He glanced at my throat. “I could give you a demonstration, for purely scientific purposes. Your husband wouldn’t mind.” He wiggled his brows at me.
I hissed and stabbed, that time aiming it right. When he blocked his kidneys, I was already pulling back and on the second strike aimed at his heart, quick enough to nick his black silk shirt.
He withdrew a step and then fingered the material.
“I am satisfied that you will not bring shame upon the title of the Grand Master’s Zombie Exterminator.
Shall we?” He bowed with a flourish at the horde of zombies that stretched out into the darkness as far as I could see.
“You will be particularly useful because of your marking, as long as you don’t die. That would be embarrassing.”
“I’d hate to embarrass you. I finally have something to live for.” I swallowed hard and edged towards the zombies, while the Grand Master fell in behind me. “Maybe you should have been drilling me on how to kill these guys.”
“They’re already dead. How hard can it be?”
He was mocking me. This was going to be so embarrassing.
I took a stance, and held my knife, waiting for them to come to me, while the Grand Master stood at my back, breathing down my neck.
Was he smelling me? This was not the time.
Not that it was ever the time, but I was trying to focus on the zombies.
Worrying if he was going to bite me, or do the other thing, the blissed out thing was very distracting.
“Could you not do that?”
“What?” he breathed, sending goosebumps down my spine.
“That. Give me a little fighting room.”
“If you’re fighting zombies, you’re doing it all wrong. You need to exterminate.”
“Fine. Give me extermination room!” I leapt forward and stabbed the first zombie in the face and jerked up, exactly the way that the vampire exterminator had done.
It was surprisingly easy to do all the things I’d seen her do, much easier than before I took the antidote.
What had been in it? Were there side-effects I didn’t know about?
Addiction? That’s what the Grand Master had mentioned, that it had been inevitable for me to come back for another dose.
No time to worry about that now, because I was in the fray and moving fast.
“Good, but put more of your weight behind it. You need to make quick work of them. There are so many zombies, far too many. If they were determined to overrun the city, it would take me serious effort to stop them.”
“Heaven forbid you exert any effort,” I snarled while I reversed my knife and ripped through another monster’s brain.
He reached past me and grabbed a skull that would have bitten me and squeezed.
I flinched back from the spray of brains and felt his iron chest against me, his arms encircling me as he just squeezed brain after brain like ripe fruit.
It was so disgusting. This entire situation was just miserable and disgusting, but here I was, so I might as well learn from this experience.
I ducked under his arm and kicked a zombie back then lobotomized another one, and another. And another. On and on and on. It got quite exhausting. My arm was a limp noodle when the horde finally stopped coming, mostly from the Grand Master’s blurring exhibition of speedy grossness.
It was around three a.m. when he finally smashed the last brain with his shiny black boot and turned to give me a pleasant smile.
“You are now well-versed in the extermination of zombie. It helps that you’re marked for turning, not eating.
It makes them more hesitant to rip you apart.
And the marking is incredibly useful to draw them in.
How do you keep from luring them to your home? ”
I rubbed my forehead. “I’ll need to call a cab, and then take a salt soak, and then come back here and get my car.”
“You salt soak at your lover’s house?”
“No, motels. And he’s not my lover.”
“Right. Your husband is the only one you desire.” His black eyes mocked me.
“If we’re done here, then I’ll get home.”
He picked me up in his arms, tossed me a few times until I clung to his neck out of nerves, and then he ran. It was all a blur, literally, because everything flashed by way too fast to see anything until he set me down, reeling in front of a very nice hotel. I’d never been there before.
“I own it. There’s a room on the bottom floor, access through the side door. In it, you will find everything you need to change into, and then a driver will take you back to your car. You’re welcome. Don’t worry, I’ll take it out of your Zombie Exterminator stipend.”
“Wait, I get paid?” I asked, straightening up from my crouch where I’d been contemplating throwing up.
He looked at me as if I was an idiot. “The prime motivating factor for humans is greed, or sex, but since you’re clearly not interested in exploring adventurous encounters with the night element, we’ll stick with money.
Fill out the paperwork in the room, unless you’d like to invite me in with you. ” His slick smile gave me shivers.
I rubbed my arms. “I’m good.”
“You have no idea what good even means, not until you’ve tasted my darkness, but I’ll allow you your sad self-deceptions.”
“Thanks?” This guy was a total jerk. “For the record, my husband is way better than good. He’s brilliant in bed. I have zero complaints in that regard.”
He laughed and raised his brows then gestured me towards the building. “That’s what you think. Still, I have slightly more respect for him, even if he can’t keep you where you belong.”
I rolled my eyes and staggered towards the hotel, realizing belatedly that I had a key in my hand, and my knife was once more safely strapped on my leg. The Grand Master was slick. Way too slick.
The room was not just a normal room with an exterior exit, it had a triple-barred entry from both the hotel and the drive.
I locked myself in and then headed to the shower.
I was starving. I should have stopped for chicken or something.
Could I get something delivered? He’d take it out of my paycheck.
I needed to fill out paperwork, seriously?
I glanced at the stack of papers on the desk, shook my head, then called room service.
“Yes, Madame, what can I get for you?” a slightly nervous woman answered.
“Chicken. Is there somewhere open this time of night that delivers?”
“The kitchen is always open to our special guests. We’ll deliver a four course meal in twenty-minutes, if that’s all right.”
“Sure.”
“It’ll be delivered into the first foyer, where you can retrieve it safely after they go. Thank you for calling. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Epson salts, are there any in the bathroom? I didn’t check.”
“There are, yes, but if you have a particular brand or scent, I can send for it immediately.”
I yawned. “No, I’m good.”
I hung up and climbed in the tub, too tired and worn out to worry about whether the nutso Grand Master had put cameras around or not.
I fell asleep in the tub, only waking up when room service knocked on the door.
I listened for the voice announcing that my meal was there then dragged myself out of the tub.
I couldn’t remember being this tired in a long time.
Not since I was a teenager and stayed up for days at a time.
I pulled on the incredibly lush robe that felt like silk velvet, and the soft comfy slippers, then unlocked the foyer and wheeled the tray filled with silver covered dishes over to the bed.
I climbed on the bed and ate like a slob while I watched my favorite Jane Austen movie.
Pride and Prejudice. Hazen had always been mystified by my whole fascination with long ago time periods.
He talked about feminine hygiene, or the lack thereof, along with open sewage, while I tried to drown in period clothing and quaint manners. How was he doing? Was he at home?
I was sinking down into the blankets when I sat bolt upright. The roast! I’d turned it on and left it on. If he didn’t come home…
I climbed out of the incredibly soft and delicious bed and called the number labeled ‘car.’
“I need to go. Now. How long will it take you to get here?”
“Three minutes.”
It was closer to two and a half. I was waiting outside the room in the small drive, pacing back and forth. The driver pulled up in my own car.
“Allow me,” he said, opening the driver’s door for me with a very courteous smile.
“Thank you,” I said, slipping inside. He didn’t mention my fluffy robe or slippers, just closed the door on me and stepped back. An envelope was taped to the steering wheel. I ignored it, because I had to get home before the house burned down. Maybe the oven was smart enough to turn itself off.
I peeled out, driving quickly until I ran into a house full of smoke, but still in one piece.
Hazen wasn’t here? I ran to the kitchen and found the charred remains of what was supposed to be a consolation dinner.
I glanced at the clock. Almost five. There was only one thing to do with a house full of smoke, and that was open up all the windows and doors, and walk around waving towels in the air.
Hazen came home, smelling of smoke, because I couldn’t smell anything else, but he had dark circles under his eyes.
What had he been doing out so late? Golf courses didn’t stay open that long.
I really needed to get a lawyer to look over that document the Grand Master had given me, make sure there was something in there about him helping me get rid of the marking that was so convenient at gathering all the zombies you wanted to kill.
I needed to touch my husband, to hold him, to drown in his love and forget about all the madness in my world.
“What are you doing?” we asked at the same time.
He waved a hand in front of his face. “Am I on fire, or is it you?”
“Dinner. I made a very nice dinner for you.”
“But you burned it when I didn’t show up?”
“Actually, I got stuck dealing with the glass people and forgot about it. The timer didn’t go off, so I went to bed and didn’t wake up until now. I smelled the smoke and…” I shrugged.
He came over to me, close enough that I could smell him instead of smoke. He smelled so good, so fresh and clean, nothing like alcohol. “I went on a hike in the woods. In the dark. I did bring a flashlight, but it was still pretty idiotic.”
“You went on a night hike? How fun. I want to go.”
He studied me and then raised his hand oh-so-slow and brushed my cheek. I’d just taken a good salt soak and scrubbed well. Cheeks weren’t notorious for sweat and smell. He should be okay. “Tell me that you love me.”
I pressed my lips together while he brushed my cheek with his fingers. “I love you.”
“You hesitated.”
“I was thinking about how much I love you, and it’s a lot.
You’re my whole life. I mean, the children became the thing that I did, but you were the foundation of them, of our family.
I’m not sure what we are anymore, but I still care about you.
I think that this can be a good opportunity, this transition, your work, and my life, and we can think about what we want to build for the future.
I’m thinking about going back to college. ”
“You’re saying that you think you need to support me financially now that I’m unemployed? You really are remarkable. It is out of the question, but I appreciate the offer.”
I scowled at him and shoved his chest. He fell over on the couch, pulling me along with him.
The full-body contact was so good. Maybe it was because I was so tired, or the smoke, or the fact that monsters seemed like the only real thing in my life, but it felt like a dream segment with him and I just couldn’t resist running my nose along his jaw and sinking my hands into his hair.
My husband, Hazen, who could be a serious jerk, but had still stayed with me through all the pain, joy, sorrow, in sickness and health.
He wasn’t perfect, but neither was I, and I needed him.
I needed his strength and support and love and touch.
I kissed him, drowning in his mouth and taste, wrapping around him like I’d been starving for him.
He tasted so good, so sweet, with soft lips and silky tongue. I drank him while my hands slid up under his shirt, over his satin skin. I pulled away long enough to get rid of my shirt before I was back on him, absolutely lost in the sensation, the safety, the connection that I’d been longing for.
His hands found me, strong, capable, and so delicious. I was caught up in the cloudy sweetness, the desire mixed with relief so powerful, I couldn’t do anything but fill my body and soul with him.