Author's Note

Hi faithful readers and reviews. Can I say something? Y'all are the best! I love each and every one of you who take the time to read and/or review my story. I know you have been itching to find out what happens. The next chapter is being written out even as I write this so keep a look out. Till next time…

P.S. Don't hate me…

Chapter 10: Ashes to Ashes

On instinct, King ran back to the van to follow them, and then he realized it was too late. They were already long gone. He had so much rage within him that he could barely function

He failed. King had failed her. His one promise was to protect her and he couldn't even do that. Picking up the cell phone with shaky hands, he called Dash immediately. He was screaming at the top of his lungs not able to form complete sentences.

"I lost her Dash, she's…they grabbed…God, help me find Abby!!"

"Slow down King. You're not making any sense. Tell me what happen?"

King took a breath and continued to yell and babble, but in a more articulate way. He slammed his fists hard against whatever was in arms length.

"Those fucking bastards took Abby! I saw them. Some mother fucker kicked her Dash. He kicked her and they threw her into the back of a black van like she was a rag doll. You have to locate her Dash and tell me where she is! God fucking damnit! This is all my fucking fault! We should've stuck with her original plan. We should've stayed together. If they hurt her I swear to God I'll rip their entrails out and shove them back down their fucking throats!!"

All the while, Dash was processing Abigail's information in hopes of finding her. When her locater didn't activate, he feared the worst, but didn't want to tell King.

"Alright, I want you to pay attention to me. You have to be rational King. Abby is a smart woman and don't forget she's highly trained. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to come back here, calm down, and…

"CALM DOWN!? She's my life, Dash! She saved me! They may as well as taken me when they took her away!!"

"And you're going to get you chance to repay her by bringing her home safely but first you have to be logical and come here. You can't go around the whole city hunting a cold trail. We have to figure out where they're taking her first. Caulder and I are going to do everything we can and you know that."

Meanwhile…

When I woke up I felt tight and filthy with blood. My mind was so disoriented. I don't know where I was or how much time had passed. I do know that my head was sticky and honeyed with coagulated blood. Somewhere along the line I had been stripped of my weapons and clothes. I was now dressed in a white, stained red, piece of muslin cloth. It was so thin it made me shiver. Someone was shuffling around near me as I tried to focus. As soon as I opened my eyes, my head split with a migraine and I tried to scream at him only to find my voice wasn't there. The person next to me bent down and stared. It was a man, which I could tell by the voice, but all I saw was a colored blob. He yelled to someone across the room, the volume of his voice made me hiss in pain

"She's coming around! Go inform him, he wanted to be here."

I closed my eyes while waiting for the pain to recede. As my mind and vision cleared I became more aware of my current situation. My arms were useless and it seemed. So were my ankles. I was flat on my back on an immaculate bed, with the exception of being covered in coppery, crimson liquid. I pray to God those bastards didn't bite me. Although, I was soaked through with my own Type O, I didn't feel like I had been bitten. My skin didn't burn. King told me once that when Danica turned him, his skin felt like it was on fire. My heart immediately fell into the pit of my stomach. King! If there was anything I wished more, it would be to see him crashing into the room, lighting up these assholes like cigarettes. I had faith that they would find me, wherever I was. But, it was up to me to make sure that they found me alive. The blood hung in clumps in my hair. I would never willingly reside to my death but if it was a choice between vampirism or death, give me the gun. I wasn't about to go through what King did. Moments later, a door in the corner slid opened to reveal certainly a man in black dress slacks and a dark blue collared shirt. As he approached my line of vision, I recognized him. It was Azrael. He came close to me and I spat at him. Drawing back a moment, he wiped his eyes and then struck me hard in the face, clicking his tongue at my misbehavior.

"Now now, Abigail. That wasn't very lady like…"

I laughed in contempt.

"Someone lied to you Sugar."

"Clever girl…making me think that I was going to have you then turning on me. Look at you now. How one's luck can change with the fickle twist of fate."

He ran a cool finger down my cheek, gathering blood on the way. He brought it to his lips, licking at it slightly. Then, eyes turning red in bloodlust, his fangs elongated as he sucked his finger clean.

"Mmm…You have a sweet taste my love. No wonder that big lug wanted you to himself. What a lucky man to be so deserving of a prize like you."

My stomach lurched. Maybe now I'd give King the pleasure of killing this ingrate. His finger returned to get more and I snapped at him. He just laughed and smiled at me.

"You're quite more active than I expected, that's good though. The harder the fight, the sweeter the reward…Tell me. What does He call you? Ahh yes…Abby. How sweet. Tell me Abby, How does it feel when he tastes you? To have his tongue inside of you; Do you enjoy that?"

He stalked around me as I eyed him viciously and he continued.

"Does it feel good? Is he warm? Does he make you cum? I bet you love fucking him. Riding his cock as he moves beneath you… He is a powerful man. Not having him now must make you yearn for him. You know, I can be an excellent substitute."

He hand trailed up my arm as I pulled harshly on the chains holding me in place. My fists slammed down catching his finger, breaking it. He yelled out, enraged. I smiled in disdain and glared at him, eyes hazy from blood loss. My voice was dry and strained.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die, you fucking anemic hemophiliac!"

He sneered at me coldly. The last conscious memory I had was watching his polished black boot come down to contact with my temple then my whole world went black.

Back at the Honeycomb hideout, King openly paced as obscenities flew out of his mouth. Zoë sat curled in the corner covering her ears and rocking back and forth. She'd found out what happened to Abby and had been a crying mess ever since. She stayed attached to King, even when he cursed like this; she wanted to be near him. He thought it was his fault. Covering her ears to muffle the harsh words she watched him. She was waiting for him to exhaust himself. Both Dash and Caulder observed that Zoë was the only one that King would allow near him. When she tried to speak to him, he would stop his actions and look at her like the broken man he was. He finally, slowly, crashed to the floor and, much like Zoë, hugged his knees to his chest, determined not to sob in front of anyone who wasn't his Abby. Only she would see his tears. Zoë quietly tiptoed from her space in the corner crawling into his lap and cried. Her tiny body shook violently, like his. Her hand reached up rubbing King's own hand. It was the only comfort he accepted.

Caulder and Dash had been trying for the last 5 hours to locate Abigail, but to no avail. Without her locator active, she could be anywhere, they just didn't want to discover their worst nightmare and find her dead. They would have to search every known vampire owned building in the city. It was a long and tedious process, but they didn't hesitate. Time wasn't an issue with finding her, but it was wherever they were keeping her. God knows what they were doing to her. King was also an issue; they were going to have to maneuver the situation so that he wouldn't be a danger to himself. Caulder printed out a list of addresses. It could take days to clear these places out. It was extremely dangerous. Dash only hoped that time was on their side.

"Our best bet is concentrating on the buildings during the day when they sleep. Our nights, we move in to take them down."

"What about Zoë? She won't move without King."

Dash thought for a moment.

"I'll take her, she trusts me. I'll just have to bide my time wisely with her while getting the job done. Let's go."

Caulder nodded, grabbed the list, and walked out. Dash followed suit and went to collect King and prepare him for the mission ahead.

In my confined cell, two day had passed and I became accustomed to numerous late night visits and torture sessions. I was getting more aware of my surroundings. Something about this place looked utterly familiar. I was in a tower; there was a lot of glass, too many windows for vampires to live here safely. It was the old Talos' building! That makes me feel more optimistic. This is most likely the first place King would check. Hearing a slight noise I looked up to the ceiling. There I could see it. The constellation Orion stood there faithfully waiting; the archer, like me. It was only a sliver of pale moonlight that was able to reach far enough to touch me on the floor. Sadly it was the only view of freedom I had here. Azrael always parted the skyline at night, or so he said. Throughout the night he came to visit me. My guess is I was his new, sick obsession now. He said he was keeping me alive for incentive. He was planning on using me as bait for King. The verbal assault about King and mine relationship didn't stop. It just got more vulgar because Azrael got off on it. Sometimes, in good moods, he would come and talk to me like I wasn't tied to the bed. Other times he would lick the dried blood from my wounds clean after he or some other vampire inflicted them. I had to endure it. I was so weak it made me nauseated. Where had King found his strength in times like these? I hadn't stopped thinking about him, even now I used his memory as Azrael was violating me with his touches. I knew King was working to save me. These two days have been hell for me. I miss him, I miss his touch. If anything I'll survive only to kiss him again. Right now, finishing up the last trickle of blood disappearing behind the cloth around me, Azrael looked down at me with serene eyes.

"Your boyfriend is looking for you. The guards spotted him circling around the building in an armored car this morning with one other man. Chances are he's on his way here, now. I think it would be wise that we move you. And, if you behave, I just might not kill you. I may make you my eternal bride with a little gold band. How does that sound?"

It was then I realized that my father's ring was gone off my thumb. Azrael opened his hand to reveal it hanging on a chain, draped in front of me.

"Looking for this?"

A look of faux sympathy crossed his face as he looked at me.

"Awe, would you like it back?"

Whatever I was going to do, begging for something from a vampire wouldn't be one of them. I watched him as he took it off of its gold chain and held it so close to my fingers that I could almost feel it.

"Sorry Azrael, I'm more of silver type of girl…"

He grinned at my sarcasm.

"I like you Abigail. You have just enough attitude for me. Everything that comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours is dripping with disdain. It would be interesting to see what other talents your mouth possesses. Maybe I can put it to good use yet."

The thought made me cringe. If he were to put anything near my mouth he'd be deadly sorry. Knowing his sadistic ass, he probably liked the pain.

"It's time to move you my dear…"

There was a knock on the door while four male vampires entered the room wearing bulletproof vests and carrying semi-automatics. Azrael walked over to them, one larger vampire spoke to him urgently.

"Boss, we have to go quickly. They're on our asses. We don't have much time until they find us."

Azrael gripped his shoulder tightly and whispered in a harsh tone.

"Be careful with her. If she's hurt, I'll kill you. Understood?"

They all nodded and came over to me. To ensure I wouldn't escape; one braced my arms to the mattress, another sat against my legs, making the pain shoot up in my body. I yelped out before I could stop myself and instantaneously Azrael walked over and slapped the vampire to the ground. He looked at another and pointed.

"You. Go get a sedation needle. We won't have to worry about her fighting then. She'll be dreaming. "

He swiftly left as Azrael tried to smooth back my hair. My body jerked up to hit him, but sadly my restraints hadn't been loosened that much. He laughed and sneered. The gopher vampire returned with his master's syringe. My so called concentrated bliss.

"Not much longer my darling. You won't even think about your precious King. I'll turn you and then all you will want, is me. Sleep until then."

I felt a tiny prick and then nothing as the whole world faded to black.

On the other hand, King was amped. Dash had located her in the old Talos building. Part of him was screaming with relief to know where she was. The other half, anxiety pulled at his nerves whether or not she would be harmed. Judging from his experience, he didn't want to think what this guy had done to her. If only he knew what Azrael had planned for her. He banked to the left and pulled up down the street. In the seat next to him, he grabbed his lever action Bone Jack rifle. It was definitely needed for such a special occasion. His electronic pistols were strapped to his sides and his Beefeater rested against his thigh holster. He was armed and viciously dangerous.

The misty projections of the sunset reflected off the top of the building as he walked up to it. How he wished one of the shades failed to close and all of them burned to cinders. Sadly only minutes remained before it was safe for them to roam about. He entered the lower level where Caulder said Abigail would be and again, it was too quiet. There in front of him was the door he had to go through to reach her. He didn't hesitate a second and drew his rifle up, charging into the room.

It was empty and it smelled like copper. He turned to see the abandoned, ornate bed. Everything was soaked with blood. Abby's blood. King got violently ill at the site. His own blood boiled with rage. The ropes that held her down were stretched and rusty with dried blood and bits of skin where it rubbed raw against her delicate wrists. There on the pillow was an envelope with his name printed in calligraphy. He opened it slowly to find and emptied the contents. Abby's gold ring, her dad's wedding band, fell out into the palm of his hand.

Let's play a little game of hide and seek, shall we?

If you don't find her soon, this may be the only physical memory you have left of your Abby. I have to tell you, she would make tragically beautiful corpse. Use this as a clue. If you're a bright boy, you'll get the riddle and put two and two together. I'll give her a kiss for you.

See you soon… (If you're lucky.)

Azrael-

He left the room at a breakneck running speed with the note and ring clutched safely in his hand. He flipped out his cell phone and called Caulder.

"She's not here. They left a note and took her somewhere."

He reread the note to both Caulder and Dash to see if they had any idea where she could be. As he read the last line, something clicked in his mind and everything suddenly became so clear.

"They've taken her to Blade's old docking compound!"

"We'll keep our eyes open with surveillance for you. In the meantime you need to compose your entry and be careful. There's no telling how many are with her."

"There'll be enough, but they'll all be gone very soon. I'll call you when I have her."

King wasn't apprehensive about being the only one going into battle, but he did feel only half a man going in without his beautiful sidekick, his Archangel. During the drive, King reminisced about how Abby told him she came here to be closer to her dad. Hopefully Whistler was there for his daughter now. Since the place was only a charred shell, there were few to no places for them to hide. An ultra-violent ray bomb would be useful in this situation. Good thing he came prepared. He was equipped with his own small vampire-killing arsenal. He wasn't going to hesitate this time. It was his fault this happened and he would right it somehow. Vengeance was his. The expedition crept up to the location in the dark. There were several vampires standing on posts outside the frame of the dock. Inside, there was a deep black pit where the explosion blew a hole underground and out. King decided it was now or never and he flipped on his UV headlights combusting all the vampires standing outside in his view.

"Well that was easy…A vampire in the sun is worth two in the dust."

He jumped out of the car and cautiously investigated the scene. Only the vampire bodies smoldered, giving off a red glow. King approached the pit and tossed a UV bomb in it. It detonated and was immediately followed by flames. Considering it safe and clear, he hopped down into the hole. There were mountains of ash and metal around him when he heard a shuffle. Azrael emerged from the shadows removing his sunglasses and gloves, unharmed. He grinned, his fangs glinting in the moonlight shafted through the pit. He gestured around to his dead comrades.

"They were a present…"

King chewed on the inside of his cheek as his patience was slowly wearing thin. He held up the note. The wedding ring twinkled as he lifted his hand. It was placed on his right hand ring finger.

"Thanks for the love letter, but I'm not into dudes; especially ones without a pulse. That's a real turn off."

"I pictured you for a romanticist…"

He pointed to the ring and shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"Guess I was wrong…and as for the turn off. Would that include if Abby didn't have a pulse as well? Or would you turn into a necrophiliac?"

That did it. King lunged for his throat trapping him against a plank of wood. Azrael gave him a cocky look.

"No wonder Abby screamed your name when I fucked her. A strong body like yours…I'm jealous."

King kneed him hard in the groin and Azrael bent double. King growled low in his throat and his grip tightened, making the vampire gag.

"You better not have touched her. Where is she? I'll give you to the count of three."

"Don't deny it King…"

He was cut off guard by King's fist making a nasty and audible smack against his jaw. His mouth filled up with the taste of his own bitter blood and he spat it out, gasping.

Now what do you say for another clue. Are you up for that? It going to be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"One…"

King flung Azrael on the ground stepping on his chest for leverage to keep him down.

"Two…"

Azrael just smiled coolly at him. King then cocked the barrels of his Bone Jack and fired a round into Azrael's chest, flaming him up and disintegrating his body.

"Three…Fucker…"

King basked in the warmth of his ashes for a second then went to search for Abby. The only sound was the water lapping on the surrounding floating docks above the pit. His voice echoed back at him mocking him harshly.

"Whistler?!"

He looked around but to no avail.

"Abby!"

King then remembered the rest of Azrael's clue. He saw a pile of dirt in the corner. Needle in a haystack…He dug through the heap of carbonized wood. Then, King saw her. He saw her body. Pale and tinged with blue. And all feeling or thought drained from him.

He had come too late.