Son of a Vampire

*Rafe*

I stalk right up to the porch of the farmhouse, ignoring the startled guards, and snatch my child out of Eustice’s hands. “I’ll take him, thank you very much.”

“K-King Rafe Poe,” Eustice splutters, stumbling backward.

I turn to the baby-shaker then and grab her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. She gurgles.

The guards are stirred to action, and all five of them swarm toward me.

The lycans who came with me leap out of the trees and run across the road, throwing themselves on the guards. Scott makes short work of two of them, snapping their necks before they even know what hit them.

Casper and Jim head for two other guards and rip them open before they can make a sound, though I have no idea if they were able to use their mind-link capabilities to call for help.

A guard almost reaches me, but Devon grabs him by the neck, ripping through before he shifts, wiping blood off his mouth. “Go ahead,” he says to me. “I wouldn’t let a baby-shaker live.”

I won’t be the one to kill the woman, even though she was mean to my son. I toss her aside. “Have at her,” I tell them, and soon enough my friends are making her pay for her treatment of the prince.

Drake licks his lips and stops crying.

I roll back my sleeve and put my wrist to his mouth, letting his little fangs dig in. He looks so malnourished, and there are bruises all over his little body.

A few moments later, with everyone around the farmhouse dead, including the farmer, my friends pull on some clothes and wander over to see the famous babe we’ve come so far and fought so hard to save.

“There’s a special circle of hell for people who abuse children,” Scott mutters.

“No arguments here,” Casper agrees.

Once Drake drinks his fill, Devon offers me his wrist. I give him a tired, grateful look and bite down.

Casper and Jim do the practical thing and start looting the house for food and other supplies to help us on our journey.

Scott is just staring at Drake, pale and angry. I imagine child abuse must hold a specific place in his psyche and feel for the big lug.

Once Casper and Jim are finished, and I’ve retracted my fangs, we start into the woods again. We don’t know if the guards managed to get a message out over the mind-link or not, but we’re not eager to risk it.

Drake, for his part, seems to know he’s supposed to be quiet and just rests happily against my shoulder, snoozing most of the time.

“I’m getting you home to Mommy, Drake. I promise,” I tell him over and over again as we walk.

“Those guards were right about getting through the Rallegrad army,” Jim states, sounding nervous. “I mean, we’re more than a week away from the southern border, but it’s something we ought to be thinking about.”

“We’ll make do,” Scott replies, and I look at him, startled.

“I thought you were leaving us at your village,” I say.

“Not anymore.” His tone is solemn but also final. It does not leave room for follow-up questions.

I wonder if the bruises on my little Drake changed his mind. “Well, thank you, then. We can all really use your help.”

“Don’t mention it,” he responds, and I think he means it literally.

So, I drop the subject.

After a while, Scott holds out his arms for Drake. “I’ll carry him for a while.”

I frown in uncertainty. “I’m not sure if he’ll fuss.”

“He won’t fuss,” he assures me.

With great care, I transfer Drake into Scott’s arms.

True to his word, Drake doesn’t fuss at all. In fact, he just looks up at Scott with wide, green eyes. Then he smiles and gurgles and waves a little fist.

Kindred spirits, I guess. “Thank you,” I say. “For the break–and for everything else.”

“I didn’t know they were hurting him,” he replies.

“I didn’t, either,” I sigh. “I wish we could’ve gotten here faster.” Not that I didn’t find him as quick as possible.

“Devon says you broke out of the castle dungeon. I think you got here as fast as you could,” he agrees. “I should have kept a better ear on things. When you said your son was kidnapped, and this Geoffrey person assured you he was with good people, I should have been more skeptical.”

I pat him on the back, and he stiffens, so I take my hand away. “Sorry.”

“Reflex,” he admits. “I wasn’t always this big.”

“No. But like you said, there’s a special circle of hell for people who think it’s all right to hurt children,” I respond.

He nods decisively, and we all fall into silence again.

Drake only fusses when it’s lunchtime. Scott offers his wrist this time, and Drake gets his first taste of lycan blood. He seems to like it and sucks away happily.

We stop when night falls and make camp. Scott reluctantly gives Drake back to me. I smile and thank him again.

I snuggle Drake on my sleeping pad, making sure most of him is covered with the blanket. I remember the song Ainslee sang to him every night and started to sing it myself.

Much to my surprise, Scott joins in, then the others.

Drake gives a little yawn and a grunt, then begins to snore softly.

The men all laugh, including me.

It takes three days for us to see the wagon cages again. Devon draws a sharp breath when we are skirting a village and points through the trees.

Sure enough, there is a guard taking a leak, and beyond him, cages packed full of men.

We’re running low on food and had been planning to stop in the village, or rather, Casper and Jim were going to stop, but there is no going in there now.

I see emptiness and misery depending on which man I look at. Scott tugs me behind some trees so that Drake and I are not seen, at least.

Luckily, the guard isn’t paying much attention. He turns away from the woods and goes to join the throng without so much as a peek in our direction.

Another guard, however, sniffs the air. Then he makes a face. “You had to mark it, did you?”

“What? It’s just a little piss,” the other guard says.

“Yeah, and your funk. Ugh.” The guard holds his nose.

I could kiss that guard for being a dick with his dick. Of course, the wind shifts and blows his ‘funk’ our way.

Jim actually retches.

Devon puts a finger to his lips.

“It’s a little late for that, gentlemen,” a guard says, stepping out of the trees and fiddling with his pants. He’d clearly been relieving himself as well and we hadn’t noticed him.

“Piss,” Casper grunts.

“Well, I was. Now I’m taking in five good, strong men.” He sniffs the air and raises his eyebrows at me. “Why, King Rafe Poe. What a pleasure.”

“It’s not mutual,” I reply through my elongating fangs.

The guard laughs. “Come now, there’s no need for that. Besides, how far do you think you’ll get? I’ve already alerted them over the mind-link. So if you’ll all just come quietly, we can avoid a lot of unnecessary nonsense.”

“Oh, I think we’re going to have to get into that unnecessary nonsense,” Scott growls.

I hold Drake protectively against my chest and hiss.

“You won’t make it past the Rallegrad forces in Shadowglade, anyway. Why not give up now and save yourself the long walk back to the castle? You can ride in style.” The guard points at the already overflowing wagon cages.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Casper says. “We’re free men, and we have no intention of being shields for front line defenses.”

“That’s too bad.” The guard looks past us, and I can see at least fifteen other guards closing in on our position.

“Gentlemen, it’s been an honor.” Devon begins to shift.

The other three do as well.

I just hold tightly to Drake and step to the side, trying to avoid guards on both sides.

“Think of the baby, Your Majesty,” the guard cajoled. “You wouldn’t want little Prince Drake to get hurt, now, would you?”

Scott howls then and runs at the guard, easily clawing a hole in his chest.

The guard looks startled in death.

Guards close in on us and begin shifting themselves.

I set Drake down in a pad of soft moss behind a sturdy tree. Then I take my place in line among my new friends.

Just then, there is an ungodly shriek from the direction of the cages. While the guards were distracted, women came from town and released the men. One of the two guards left behind is dead on the ground, the other is being gripped around the throat by a young man.

“What the fuck?” one of the guards circling us says.

Men and women start shifting and run at the guards.

Not to be left out, the five of us box them in from the other side.

It’s a complete slaughter. The guards may be trained in battle, but the number of villagers is overwhelming.

In a few short minutes, the guards are all dead on the ground.

Satisfied we are safe, I go to get Drake. When I come back, everyone is kneeling.

“King Rafe Poe,” one of the men from the cages says. “May we follow you?”