Chapter 9: A Monster's Awakening

Harsh cries came from his mouth as the terrible agony flooded his body. It was growing worse by the minute, and he rolled, fighting the straps that held him to the bed. Blood ran thick in his veins, too thick. He needed to feed, he needed the release but every movement he made seemed to trap him worse.

"Braxton!" he screamed, throwing his head back. His voice was guttural, almost as thick sounding as his blood that flowed heavily through his veins. Then he calmed, his eyes resting upon the clear plastic bag that was feeding a dark orange liquid into him. It seemed to be the cause of his agony and he tried to reach the needle that was pushed into his arm.

"Arghhh!" he screamed, shaking his bonds. "Braxton, I will kill you!"

A chuckle tore his thoughts from the orange liquid and his problem. His head turned and he stared at the man before him. "Braxton," he whispered.

"Yes. Calm down Nicholas. You'll be thanking me when I'm done."

"Thanking you for killing me, I don't think so. Let me go."

"Not yet, Nicholas." Braxton moved across the tile floor, moving to the other side of the bed. He checked on the small plastic bag and then reached into a small refrigerator, pulling out a bag of blood. He hooked it up to the pole, unrolling a length of the thin tubing. He pushed it onto the plastic stopper of the bag and then sent the needle end into the IV in his arm. "This will help."

Nicholas shook his head, smelling the difference in the blood than that of what he usually ingested. "No, what is that?"

"It's blood ... and a special additive. Trust me Nicky, you'll enjoy it." He started the drip, the blood flowing into his veins. He began to feel stronger, but something new, something that almost felt foul dripped into his blood as well.

"No!" He shouted the word.

Braxton smiled, resting his hand on Nicky's for just a moment. He squeezed it, and then turned toward the door, staring at the face that was peering into the window. He nodded once and watched as the face disappeared. Then he stepped toward the door and walked out.

Mirage stared at the small man hanging in Tinman's arms. "So which is it, Dude?"

When he didn't say anything, Mira moved toward him again, lifting her hand as if to touch him, smiling as he screamed and moved futilely in Drake's arms. "No! No, he'll kill me!"

"I'll kill you, dude, I'll just enjoy it a hell of a lot more." Mira stepped closer, her fingers reaching out to grab a lock of Myler's hair. "You want me even closer, Myler?" She took another step closer, her fingers a hair's breath away.

He screamed, falling backward against Drake. "I'll tell you, I will. Just don't let her touch me."

Drake cocked his head to the side, winking at Mirage. "You know, Dude, I just don't understand your aversion to the pretty ladies. I'd let this one touch me anytime and anywhere."

"You're steel, she'd make me crazy."

"Did you want to try that, Drake?" Mira asked, laughing as his eyes narrowed as if he were considering it.

"I'd say yes, but Lee has a problem with me flirting with the pretty ladies, Mira. She'd turn me into a lump of molten metal scrap." He jumped when an arm came around his shoulders, soft fingers moving over his chin.

"You're so, so right, gorgeous. You'd be scrap metal in a second if I thought you were doing any flirting with Mira here." Lee rose up on tip toe and kissed his cheek.

"Whoa, Lee. Wanna loose the line before you fry me?"

Mira turned seeing the gold flecks that seemed to snap like sparks in Leila's unusual cat-like eyes. She grinned at the black witch, watching as Lee blinked a couple of times and her eyes changed, the gold leaving them just amber.

Kit walked up as well, a pair of handcuffs on a man who was wearing a black suit, a distinguished gray and black striped tie knotted neatly. There was a tiny smudge of dirt on his collar, but beside that, he was perfect, not a hair out of place. "Mira, this is Geeves, the butler."

"Miss, my name is Jarvis," the man interrupted, heaving a sigh.

"Geeves here claims that he has no knowledge of what his 'master' is doing here." Kit smiled as she mauled the man's name again.

"Who is this master?"

"Mr. Taylor Braxton, Miss. The owner of this house."

"So your "master" is kidnapping women and then selling them on the black market whether they're supernatural or not and you have no idea of what he's doing?" Mira turned, staring at the fussy little man. "You really can't expect me to believe a pile of hooey like that."

"Hooey, Miss?"

"Bunkum, bullshit, balderdash, crap, drivel, nonsense, twaddle, claptrap, baloney, garbage, hogwash ... Okay, let's try... Lies."

Jarvis flinched at the word before he shook off Kit's hand and started walking toward her. "Miss, I've been a member of this household for many years. I'm seen Master Taylor do many things. I've never seen him lie."

"Well, keep your eyes open, Geeves. We'll see if we can fix that for you." Mira moved towards Myler again, seeing the relief in his eyes when he was no longer center of her attention. "Oh, no, Myler. I haven't forgotten about you."

Myler screamed, a hollow sound that had the hair standing up on Mira's neck. "He sounds like a four year old girl," Drake said with a laugh. "I wonder if Myler here is actually a man?"

Mira reached down, managing to unbutton the man's pants without touching his skin. Running the zipper down had him dancing in place, as if he'd do anything to get away from Mirage. "I said I'd tell you," he screamed even as the weight of change and keys in his pockets had his pants falling to his knees, exposing Sponge Bob Squarepants boxers."

"Hey, Drake, don't you have a pair of those?" Lee asked, laughing.

"They're classic," Tinman growled. "Don't make fun of the Sponge."

Mira snorted. "Okay, Myler, this is your chance. Where will we find Master Taylor?"

Jarvis seemed to bristle even as Myler squirmed backwards, trying to evade Mira's hands. "There are passages that run under the house! He took one of those!"

"Took one where?" Kit demanded.

The shot that splattered Myler's head all over Drake's face seemed to come from nowhere. Drake jerked back, letting the man drop from his hands. "What the... ?"

Then Hunter was there, knocking Mira to the ground and holding her there as another shot sounded, Drake grunting as the slug struck him in the shoulder, dropping harmlessly to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" he exclaimed. "That's going to bruise." He reached out, grabbing Lee and pulling her in front of him, protecting her with his metal body. Even as he held her, he felt her beginning the ritual that would allow her to tap into the power of the ley lines. There was the sound of a roar and Kit's furred body brushed by him, heading toward the direction the shot had come from.

"Let me up!" Mira growled, pushing at Hunter when he refused to let her go.

"That bullet was meant for you." He grabbed her hands, holding her down under him. "Kit's gone to see if she can track the man who fired it so just shut up and stay put."

Mira shook under him, her hands clenching as she pushed against him. Nothing went through her mind but how close he was, how she could feel him, all of him, against her. His hands touched her hair and he stared down at her, into her eyes, watching as the confusion took her.

"Hunter?" she groaned softly, feeling the hardness of him between her thighs. He made her feel things, realize things, that she hadn't since her husband's death all those many years ago. Heat suffused her, making the flesh between her thighs grow wet and throb. It was need, a desperate need that finally forced her to realize what was happening.

"Let me up," she whispered, unable to look at him.

Hunter looked around them, then lifted, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him. "Stay here," he said softly, but there was the tone of an order to his voice.

Mira glanced down at what was left of Myler and cursed succinctly. There was no doubt that the man was dead. There wasn't much left a top his shoulders for him to be anything but. "Dammit! We'd been so close!"

Kit yowled loudly as she came back toward them. She grabbed for her uniform and then returned, a human once more. "He's gone. He left the rifle on the ground out there and disappeared. I could smell him on the gun but that was it. It's as if he'd never been there."

"That was a hell of a shot," Drake said, staring down at the mass of blood and gore that was all that was left of Myler. "I don't know of too many who could have made it. Someone doesn't like you much Mirage."

"That's if they were actually shooting at Myler," Hunter said.

"Who else would he be shooting at?"

Mirage scoffed. "No fucking way he was shooting at me, Hunter. I think you might have bumped your head when you dived on me."

"Maybe on that brick you call a head." Hunter grabbed her arm, feeling her stiffen against him. "Come on, we're getting you out of here before they can try again. Kit, you got this?"

"Yeah, just get her out of here, Hunter. I'll report back to Shadow and take Geeves here down to the tombs. He'll be waiting there for you."

Hunter smiled. "Thanks Kit."

Then he kept his hand wrapped around her upper arm, almost dragging her away and back to where they'd parked the SUVs.

"Dammit Hunter," she snarled as he pushed her in from the driver's side. He forced her over easily enough, pushing the keys into the ignition and starting the truck.

"Two fucking inches, Mira. That's it. Two fucking inches to the right and you'd be the one lying out there with no head."

"You don't know that the shot was aimed at me, Hunter. They could have been just trying to shut Myler up before he gave us Taylor's whereabouts."

"And you believe that about as much as I do." He spun the wheel, pulling onto the main road, his hands almost shaking on the steering wheel. "This whole fucking thing was you, Mira. You were the one who started it last night. It was you that got the cleaners and you that brought them into my house. This was your idea and you were the one who found out that Braxton is running slaves. You were the one that was fired at. You can't doubt that now."

She stared at him as if he were speaking some strange language, her eyes narrowing. "This is my fault?"

Hunter didn't even smirk. "Yes, it is."